Vigilance Department nabs naib tehsildar, patwari for accepting bribe

The Vigilance Department team from Bathinda caught the Naib Tehsildar and the area Patwari of Sub-Tehsil Sangat red-handed while accepting a bribe. Following a complaint from a victim, the department laid a trap where the complainant was asked to hand over marked currency notes to the accused officials. Once both officials accepted and pocketed the bribe amount of Rs 5,000, the team immediately conducted a raid and arrested them on the spot.

DSP Kulwant Singh from the Vigilance Department, Bathinda, stated that the operation was based on a complaint by Rajinder Kumar, a resident of Sangat Mandi. The raid was led by Vigilance team In-charge DSP Sandeep Singh in the presence of official witnesses. During the raid at the Sub-Tehsil Sangat office, Rs 2,500 each was recovered from area Patwari Gurtej Singh of Kotguru and Naib Tehsildar Nirmal Singh — which they had taken as bribe. Both were arrested under the Anti-Corruption Act.

He further revealed that both officials had demanded a bribe of Rs 10,000 from Rajinder Kumar for the girdawari (land ownership documentation) process. Rajinder had already paid the first instalment of Rs 5,000 —which was split between the two. The amount was recovered in the presence of government witnesses. When the officials were made to wash their hands, the chemical turned red, confirming the bribe.

The Vigilance team remained on site for over two hours, conducting a thorough investigation. The complainant shared that corruption in Punjab’s tehsil offices still persists, and ordinary citizens are harassed and compelled to pay bribes. He disclosed that he had purchased a piece of land in Kotguru for Rs 2.8 lakh, and an assistant of the Patwari demanded Rs 20,000 for the girdawari. Eventually, the deal was settled at Rs 10,000 to be paid in two instalments of Rs 5,000.

Naib Tehsildar Nirmal Singh had already been transferred to Baliyanwali and was supposed to be relieved from duty that very day — however, he was caught by the team before he could leave. The raid also caused panic in several other government offices in Sangat, with many officers fleeing the scene.

Punjab