Srinagar: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Saturday arrested a ward officer of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) for demanding and accepting a bribe.
ACB said they received a written complaint alleging that the SMC ward officer of the Hawal area was demanding a ₹50,000 bribe for allowing construction in favor of the complainant.
The complainant pleaded for justice. He, however, remained adamant about the bribe.
“He had asked the complainant to pay a bribe of ₹20,000 as the first installment. However, before paying the bribe amount to the accused, the complainant approached Anti Corruption Bureau for taking legal action against him under law,” ACB said.
ACB said that on receipt of the complaint, a case was registered and the investigation was taken up.
“During the investigation, a trap team was constituted. The team caught Mohd Maqbool Bhat red-handed while demanding and accepting Rs 20000 bribe from the complainant,” the ACB said
Bhat was arrested and bribe money was also recovered from his possession in presence of independent witnesses.
“Subsequently, searches were carried out at different locations associated with the accused. Further investigation into the case is going on,” ACB said.
