The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) made significant strides in combating corruption by apprehending a Forester and an official from the Forest Range office in Watergam, Baramulla. The arrests were made after the duo allegedly demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs 12,500 for processing and issuing a Transit Permit.
According to the ACB’s statement, a resident of Rafiabad in Baramulla, engaged in the timber business, lodged a complaint with the bureau. The complainant stated that he had sold approximately 375 Cft of timber to a customer in Srinagar and required a transit permit from the Range Office in Watergam, Baramulla, to transport the timber. Despite submitting four applications online through the National Transit Pass System (NTPS), he received only one permit.
Upon visiting the Range Office, the complainant alleged that the Forester, Mansoor Ahmad, demanded a bribe of Rs 3,500 for the issued permit and indicated that additional payments were necessary for the pending permits. Subsequently, the complainant approached the ACB with a written complaint, seeking action against the Forest Range office officials for demanding a bribe.
Following the receipt of the complaint, the ACB discreetly verified the allegations and found that the Forester, in collaboration with other officials from the Range Office, was demanding bribes for the already issued permit and for processing and issuing the remaining permits through the NTPS. A case (FIR No. 01/2024) was registered at the PS ACB Baramulla against Mansoor Ahmad and other officials of the Range Office, Watergam, under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 and section 120-B IPC.
During the investigation, a trap team was formed, which successfully caught Mansoor Ahmad and another official from the Range Office, Watergam, red-handed while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 12,500 from the complainant. Both individuals were arrested on the spot, and the bribe money was recovered. The involvement of other officials in the bribery case is currently under investigation, and further inquiries are ongoing.
