Mandi: Patwari suspended for taking bribe

Mandi, February 8

Deputy Commissioner Apoorv Devgan today suspended a Patwari for his involvement in a bribery case.

The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB) had registered a case against him for demanding a bribe of Rs 50,000 yesterday. A video went viral on social media, in which the accused officer demanded a bribe from a flood-affected victim for releasing the second installment of the relief amount.

Mandi ASP SV&ACB Kulbhushan Verma said a case was registered against Patwari Rajesh Vimal on the statement of Geeta Devi, a native of Kouhan village under Dharampur tehsil, whose house was damaged in the last monsoon season.

“It was alleged by the complainant that last month she had handed him over Rs 50,000 as bribe. Now the accused was demanding another Rs 50,000 for issuing the second installment of the relief amount. She lodged a complaint on CM Sankalp Seva on January 22,” Verma said.

“When a conversation between the complainant and accused went viral on social media, the Mandi Vigilance team approached Geeta Devi for verification of facts. The complainant recorded her statement with the Investigation Officer of the Vigilance team.