Chandigarh Housing Board official gets 7-yr RI in corruption case

Chandigarh, December 16

Additional Sessions Judge Jaibir Singh has sentenced 53-year-old Rajesh Kumar, Senior Assistant in the Accounts Branch of the Chandigarh Housing Board, Sector 9, to seven years of rigorous imprisonment in a corruption case registered by the Vigilance Department seven years ago. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict.

The department had registered the case under Sections 7, 13 (1) (d) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, on a complaint filed by Bikram Jit Singh, a resident of Phase 11, Mohali. Bikram had stated that Rajesh was demanding Rs 9,000 for exemption of interest on the pending instalments of a flat allotted to his cousin in Sector 63, Chandigarh. He took Rs 2,000 from the complainant on June 24, 2015.

During the arguments on the quantum of sentence, the accused sought leniency saying that he had undergone the agony of trial for seven years and if convicted, he would lose his job and other service benefits. He looked after his sister, who was physically challenged, and his family was dependent upon him. However, Public Prosecutor Hukam Singh argued that a maximum punishment should be awarded to the convict to curb the menace of corruption.