Ludhiana: In its ongoing crackdown against corruption in the state, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Friday arrested a revenue official, or Patwari, while red-handed accepting an illegal gratification of 3,500 rupees in Ludhiana district. The accused official, identified as Gurjit Singh, was posted at the Revenue Estate Dhol Khurd under the Sub Registrar office in Malaud, Ludhiana.
According to an official spokesperson of the state Vigilance Bureau, the arrest followed a formal complaint lodged by a resident of Dhol Khurd village. The complainant stated that after the passing of his parents in 2016, a three-biswa residential plot registered under his late mother’s name needed to be transferred to him and his six siblings through an inheritance mutation process. When the complainant submitted the necessary documentation, Patwari Gurjit Singh allegedly demanded a bribe of 5,000 rupees to clear the file. After negotiation, the official agreed to process the mutation for 3,500 rupees, a conversation that the complainant secretly recorded.
Reluctant to pay the bribe, the villager approached the Vigilance Bureau Range office in Ludhiana with the audio evidence. Acting swiftly on the complaint, a specialized vigilance team laid a trap at the revenue office. Gurjit Singh was caught red-handed while accepting the marked currency notes of 3,500 rupees from the complainant in the immediate presence of two independent official witnesses. A formal case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused at the Vigilance Bureau Police Station in Ludhiana, and a detailed investigation is underway.
