Patwari, son held in 6-yr-old bribery case

Tarn Taran, December 22

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The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested Ramesh Chander, a retired Patwari of revenue halqa Kirian village (Patti tehsil) here, and his son Vishal Sharma for taking bribe of Rs 11,000 from a farmer six years ago. A spokesman for the VB said a case has been registered against the duo on the basis of investigation of a complaint lodged on the VB toll free number by Sakatar Singh, a resident of Kirian village near Harike.

The spokesman informed that during investigation it came to light that the accused and his son Vishal had received bribe of Rs 11,000 from the complainant in two instalments in lieu of making correction in the revenue records regarding ownership of agricultural land.

The complainant alleged that the Patwari had tampered with the ownership records of his father’s land measuring about 10 acres (81 kanals) by making his uncle’s sons as co-owners of their agricultural land. When he lodged a complaint with the Patwari in this regard, the accused demanded Rs 10,000 to correct the records. He further alleged that the accused Patwari took Rs 1,000 on the spot and asked to pay Rs 10,000 more as a bribe for making the corrections.

During the probe, it was proved that on September 29, 2017, the Patwari had received Rs 10,000 through his son Vishal Sharma at the shop of goldsmith Hardev Singh at Harike town. The incident was recorded on the CCTV installed in the shop.

A corruption case has been registered against both.