Tehsildar's reader, peon get 5-year RI in bribery case

The court of Palwinder Jit Kaur, Judge, special court, Hoshiarpur, has  sentenced two accused in a bribery case for five years.

The Vigilance Bureau on January 14, 2020, had nabbed a reader and peon of Tehsildar, Hoshiarpur, red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 10, 000. Sarwan Chand, reader, and Rakesh Kumar, peon, both posted at Tehsildar office, were nabbed on the complaint of Hardeep Singh of village Ajjowal, Hoshiarpur.

The complainant had approached the bureau that the reader had sought a bribe of Rs 14,000 for the registry of a plot for clearing the registry without NOC, else he would mark an objection and the deal was finalised for at Rs 10,000. The bureau had laid a trap and both were nabbed while accepting Rs10,000 from the complainant.

A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against both at VB police station, Jalandhar. Listening to the arguments of the prosecution and the defence, the court, on February 21, decided "prosecution has been able to prove that the accused persons had committed an offence under Section 7 of the PC Act and Section 120-B of the IPC. Hence both are held guilty and convicted".

Sarwan Chand and Rakesh Kumar are sentenced under Section 7 of the PC Act read with Section 120-B, IPC, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years and to pay a fine of Rs 25,000 each.