Ex-Sarpanch gets 1-year jail

The Court of Special Judge Rajiv Bali has convicted a former Sarpanch and her husband for accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a businessman in exchange for granting a no objection certificate (NOC) to set up a stone crusher in Kangra district’s Kathgarh village.

As per case records, the incident occurred in 2013 when Devinder Salaria, a resident of Bianpur village in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, filed a complaint with the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Dharamsala. Salaria said he wished to install a stone crusher on his mother's land in village Tanda under Gram Panchayat Kathgarh and required an NOC from the local panchayat.

He approached then Sarpanch Manju Bala, who directed him to her husband Dharam Pal. Pal allegedly demanded Rs 10 lakh for the NOC and insisted on Rs 5 lakh in advance. Acting on the complaint, the vigilance team, led by Inspector Jagdish Chand, laid a trap and arrested Dharam Pal on April 19, 2013.

The court sentenced Pal to six months’ imprisonment under Sections 8 and 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. Manju Bala was sentenced to six months under Section 10 and one year under Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.