 Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Oct 1: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested a Deputy Director of Agriculture and his alleged tout for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a seed dealer in Srinagar, officials said on Thursday.
The accused public servant has been identified as Naseer Ahmad Khan, Deputy Director, Agriculture Law Enforcement, while his alleged tout has been identified as Mohd Owais Bhat, a resident of Qamarwari, they said.
Officials said the ACB Srinagar had received a written complaint alleging that Khan had demanded Rs 2 lakh from the complainant, a seed dealer, for allowing him to sell plant seeds at his shop.
According to the complaint, the seed dealer had already paid Rs 1 lakh to the accused under pressure, while the remaining Rs 1 lakh was agreed to be paid in two instalments of Rs 50,000 each.
Unwilling to pay any further bribe, the complainant approached the ACB and sought legal action against the accused public servant, officials said.
The allegations were subsequently verified by the ACB and the verification prima facie established the demand for illegal gratification of Rs 2 lakh, they said.
Following the verification, the ACB registered FIR number 16/2026 under sections 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Police Station ACB Srinagar and initiated an investigation.
A trap team was accordingly constituted by the ACB on September 30 to catch the accused while accepting the bribe.
During the trap proceedings, Khan, along with Bhat, was allegedly caught red-handed while demanding and accepting Rs 50,000 from the complainant, officials said.
The tainted bribe money of Rs 50,000 was recovered from the possession of the accused on the spot.
Both Khan and Bhat were arrested immediately and subjected to medico-legal formalities, following which they were lodged at Police Station Shaheed Gunj, Srinagar, for safe custody.
Further investigation into the case is in progress, the officials said. |
