The lekhpal of Roorkee Tehsil in Haridwar district, Narendra Kamboj was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 10, 000 from Brijesh Kumar, resident of Matlabpur, Roorkee by a Vigilance team in the presence of two independent witnesses on Monday evening. The bribe had been sought for allowing pucca construction on a plot of leased land, said SP (Vigilance) Dehradun VKS Karki.
In his written complaint, Kumar stated that his father Tuman Singh Saini had purchased a plot of leased land for Rs 45, 000 per 100 square yards from Matlabpur resident Ranveer Singh on May 1, 2005.
Two tin-shed rooms were already constructed at the time of purchasing this land. On September 16, 2015, the complainant started construction of a pucca roof to replace the tin shed. The lekhpal reportedly came to inspect the site on September 16 and prevented Kumar from constructing a pucca roof. The official demanded Rs 15, 000 as bribe to allow completion of the construction work even though several houses adjacent to Kumar’s tin-shed construction were already having pucca roofs. The complainant persuaded the lekhpal to agree on Rs 10, 000 as bribe and allow him to complete the construction work.
Angered over the lekhpal seeking bribe, Kumar had approached the vigilance department, Dehradun sector, registering a complaint on the same day.
Karki said that they had verified the initial complaint with the help of vigilance inspector lS Bisht. Thereafter, a plan was drafted to catch the accused red-handed with the SP Vigilance forming a team headed by inspector Jaimal Singh. The team members were asked to verify the authenticity of the complaint. After the complaint was found correct, the vigilance department sought permission from the department concerned and after it was obtained, the team was asked to trap the lekhpal. Two independent witnesses were also included in the team.
Following the direction of vigilance officer, Kumar again met Kamboj and finalised the deal. Kamboj asked him to reach his house located at Azad Nagar in Roorkee. The lekhpal was the caught red handed while accepting the bribe, Karki added.
The SP further said that based on complaints, six government officers were caught while accepting bribes last year. This year, 10 bribe cases have been acted upon so far. The Vigilance department will keep making all effort against corruption, he said. Karki appealed the people to register their graft- related complaints on various media like the departments page on social networking sites, toll- free numbers- 1800-180- 6666 and mobile numbers- 9456591894 and 9411112739.