Irrigation XEN caught taking Rs 20K as bribe

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 16

The Vigilance Bureau officials caught an Irrigation Department Executive Engineer (XEN) red-handedly for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs20,000. XEN Avtar Singh was currently posted in the Jandiala division of Uppar Bari Doab Canal (UBDC), Amritsar.

A case under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered at the Vigilance Bureau police station here.

Sher Singh of Jhander village told the police that he was an approved government contractor and had registered a society named ‘Shergill Co-operative L& C Society Limited, Jhander, District Tarn Taran’. He said he obtained a tender for the widening of the KVL Canal, Saraspur, embankment in the month of May this year from the Irrigation Department, Jandiala Division. He said he obtained this tender by following due process.

He said the embankment was to be widened along the 7 km stretch with 16 feet 4 inches width. The work was to be completed in June 2021, which was cross-checked by the officers of the department. He said for the work, a bill of Rs14.38 lakh was sent, but XEN Avtar Singh started delaying the payment on one pretext or the other. Later, he sought 20 per cent of the total bill for clearing it.

He alleged that he forced him to cough out Rs 1.5 lakh in his office at PIMTI complex in lieu of the release of the first instalment of Rs 7.7 lakh. He alleged that he started demanding the remaining Rs2  lakh for releasing the remaining amount of Rs 6 lakh. On Tuesday, Sher Singh had to pay Rs 20,000 as instalment of the remaining bribe amount of Rs 2 lakh but instead, he approached the Vigilance Bureau and lodged a complaint. Later, a team of the vigilance headed by DSP Harpreet Singh nabbed Avtar Singh while accepting bribe of Rs 20,000.