STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday arrested an official of the Geology and Mining Department while accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 in Ganderbal district.
“ACB received a written complaint, alleging demand of bribe by D.H), in-charge of the area, Geology and Mining Department Ganderbal. The complainant, who owns a JCB machine, stated that he had approached the concerned official for guidance regarding the legal formalities for lifting soil from a particular land,” ACB official said.
Instead of providing proper legal assistance, Gh Mustafa allegedly told the complainant to avoid the lengthy formalities and demanded a bribe of Rs 20,000 for granting unofficial permission to lift the soil for three days, official said adding that Mustafa further demanded Rs 10,000 as an advance payment.
Acting on the complaint, official said, the ACB conducted a discreet verification through a designated officer.
The verification report confirmed the allegations and substantiated that the public servant had indeed demanded illegal gratification, official added.
On the basis of the complaint and verification report, official said, a case FIR No. 10/2025 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended) was registered at Police Station ACB Srinagar. Subsequently, a trap team was constituted, and a successful trap was laid.
During the trap operation, official said, the accused public servant was caught red-handed while demanding and accepting Rs 10,000 from the complainant. He was immediately apprehended on the spot, official said adding that further investigation in the matter is ongoing.