Chandigarh, Nov 22 The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Saturday arrested Municipal Corporation of Batala Commissioner Vikramjeet Singh Panthey "red-handed" while accepting a "bribe" of Rs 50,000 from the complainant.
Later, during the search of his residence, an unaccounted Rs 13.50 lakh was recovered.
A bureau spokesperson said the complainant had bagged the contract for the repair of roads in the Municipal Corporation, for which two bills of Rs 372,852 were submitted for payment.
The complainant met the Commissioner, who asked him to give 10 per cent commission for clearing them.
The Commissioner said the complainant also did some other works, including a light and sound show in Batala town, for which a bill of Rs 181,543 was pending.
In this way, a total amount of approximately Rs 554,395 was due for payment, the bureau spokesperson said.
Regarding the payment of these bills, he met SDO Rohit Uppal, who said that orders of the Commissioner had to be followed, and the complainant had to give a nine per cent commission as a bribe to release the amount, the bureau spokesperson said.
But the complainant did not want to get his work done by paying bribes.
The complainant took up the matter with the Vigilance Bureau. Acting on the complainant's information, the Vigilance Bureau recorded his statement at its office in Gurdaspur.
After verifying the allegations, the bureau laid a trap and apprehended Panthey red-handed while accepting the bribe from the complainant in the presence of its two official witnesses.
A case under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against the accused at the Police Station Vigilance Bureau, Amritsar range.
The accused will be produced in court on Sunday, and further investigation is underway, added the Vigilance Bureau's spokesperson.
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