Vigilance team has arrested a lekhpal of Jwalapur Tehsil in Haridwar district, Pankaj Kumar Chaudhary on charge of taking a bribe of Rs10, 000 from a person from Haridwar for completing land registration-related procedures at his office on Thursday.
In his written complaint lodged with the vigilance department, Dehradun sector on March 20 , the complainant had stated that he had submitted an application at the office of Tehsildar, Haridwar in December last for completing registration procedures involving a land he had purchased at Shivalik Ganga Vihar in village Salempur of which the registry had been done.
As per the complaint, when he had met Nayab Tehsidar he had been asked to meet lekhpal Pankaj Kumar Chaudhary for completing the required works.
As he had approached Chaudhary for the same he had allegedly sought bribe Rs11, 000.
According to the complainant, his repeated plea to the accused to clear things had failed to cut ice with Chaudhary who continued to insist on the payment of the amount he demanded.
The complainant said that he had finally agreed and the bribery amount had been reduced to Rs10,000.
However, at the same time, he had approached SP Dehradun sector vigilance and registered a compliant over the same.
Subsequently, a team was formed with two independent witnesses being included in it. As per a plan drafted to trap Chaudhary, the latter was caught red- handed while taking the bribe from the complainant at 10.45 am on Thursday.
A case under appropriate sections of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 was subsequently registered against the accused in Dehradun sector vigilance, police informed.