Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 5: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today arrested a Deputy Forester and a Forest Guard red-handed for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 11,000 from a complainant in the Kalidhar Range of Chowki Choura Block.
An ACB official said the officials-Surinder Kumar, then posted as Deputy Forester, and Kewal Krishan, then Forest Guard-had demanded a total bribe of Rs 14,000 for the release of an additional CDR related to the construction of 126 boundary pillars in Compartment number 12/K, Nada Chargiyal Forest.
According to him, the work had been allotted under e-NIT number 27 of 2024-25 issued by the Forest Department. After negotiation, he said, the accused agreed to accept Rs 11,000-Rs 3,000 for the Deputy Forester and the remainder for the Forest Guard.
Unwilling to pay the bribe, he said, the complainant approached the ACB, which verified the allegations and registered FIR number 11/2025 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 61(2) of the BNS, 2023 at ACB Police Station Jammu.
Accordingly, the ACB official said, a trap was laid, and both public servants were caught red-handed while accepting the bribe in the presence of independent witnesses.
The bribe money was recovered on-the-spot, and the accused were arrested after completing legal formalities, he said.
He said searches were also conducted at the residences of both accused officers in the presence of independent witnesses and Magistrates.
Meanwhile, further investigation is underway, he said.
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