Meenakshi Dahiya sent peon on scooty to fetch Rs 1L bribe, says Haryana ACB

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

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Chandigarh, June 21

The state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has revealed that Meenakshi Dahiya, a 2013 batch Haryana Civil Service (HCS) officer, allegedly sent her peon-cum-watchman on a scooty to collect a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a District Fisheries Officer.

Bail plea dismissed

A Panchkula court on Friday dismissed HCS officer Meenakshi Dahiya’s anticipatory bail application in connecion with the case. She has reportedly been absconding since May 29

It claimed that the scooty was in the officer’s name. Peon Satinder Singh was caught on May 29 while accepting the bribe. In custody, the peon disclosed that though he was an employee of the Urban Local Bodies Department, he used to work at Dahiya’s home, who was posted in ULBD in 2020.

He claimed that she had sent him to collect money from District Fisheries Officer Rajan Khora for some official work. Stenographer Joginder Singh, attached to her, has also been arrested for acting as a middleman.

Meanwhile, a Panchkula court today dismissed her anticipatory bail plea. She has reportedly been absconding since May 29.

Khora, the complainant in the case, alleged that he was chargesheeted by his department as part of a conspiracy in 2022 so that his junior could be promoted. However, this year, the Fisheries Minister ordered the chargesheet against him to be dropped after an inquiry found him innocent.

Following this, Dahiya, currently posted as Joint Secretary in the department, summoned Khora to her office in Chandigarh in April through her stenographer and demanded Rs 1 lakh to issue orders to drop the chargesheet.

The same day, Joginder shared her number with Khora and told him to contact her. Khora made a WhatsApp call to Dahiya, who assured him that the orders would be issued that day. After the chargesheet was withdrawn, he visited her office on April 19 to express his gratitude and recorded their conversation. In the transcript submitted to the court, she discussed the Rs 1 lakh amount settled by Khora with Joginder, saying that he could arrange it at his convenience as she was in no hurry.

On May 22, at the parking of a hotel in Panchkula, during a party organised on the superannuation of an IAS officer, she gave Khora a slip with the name and mobile number of Satinder Singh. She said she would accept money through Satinder due to a complaint lodged against her with the Vigilance.

Khora had also recorded his conversation with Satinder. After the arrest of her peon and stenographer, the ACB issued notices to her, requesting her to join the investigation, but she did not respond. The police visited her residence repeatedly, but she was not present.