2 yrs RI to Sr Auditor of Defence Account in corruption case

Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Apr 30: Special Judge Anticorruption CBI Cases, B L Bhat today awarded two years imprisonment and fine of Rs 10000 to Khem Singh, then Senior Auditor (LAO) CDA Satwari, who was caught red-handed by CBI team on March 9, 2007 while accepting bribe of Rs 1700 from the complainant to pass the bills.According to the CBI case,� Khem Singh had demanded Rs 1700 from Surinder Sharma of Gandhi Nagar for already passed bills amounting to Rs 34312 as commission. However, Surinder Sharma filed a complaint with the CBI which laid a trap and caught red-handed the accused.After hearing Special PP S K Bhat for CBI whereas Advocate KK Sharma for the accused, Special Judge Anticorruption CBI Cases observed,� �prosecution has succeeded in establishing demand of bribe by the accused initially and at the time of trap�.With these observations, the court convicted the accused of offence under Sections 161 RPC and Prevention of Corruption Act. �Since the accused is not proved to be a previous convict and there are no aggravating factors warranting an exemplary punishment, the adequate sentence commensurate with the level of his guilt would be one year�s rigorous imprisonment on each count and a consolidated fine of Rs 10,000�, the Court said.