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Punjab Vigilance arrests mining SDO for Rs 50,000 bribe

Contractor alleges officer threatened challans against overloaded tippers unless paid

: Punjab Vigilance Bureau officials standing beside a man whose face is covered with a white cloth.
The accused SDO in the custody of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau team. TNN Photo: Kulwinder Mahal

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has arrested Hardeep Singh, a sub-divisional officer (SDO) posted with the Mining Department in Nabha, Patiala district, for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a contractor, the bureau said on Thursday.

According to an official spokesperson, the arrest followed a complaint by a contractor from Alipur Araian village in Patiala district. The complainant alleged that Hardeep had demanded the money in exchange for not issuing challans against his overloaded tipper vehicles.

Unwilling to pay, the contractor approached the Vigilance Bureau’s Patiala Range. A bureau team subsequently caught the SDO allegedly accepting the amount in the presence of two official witnesses, the spokesperson said.

Case registered under anti-corruption law

The bureau has registered a case against the SDO under the Prevention of Corruption Act at its police station in Patiala. Further investigation was underway, it added.

The case concerns the alleged demand for money to refrain from taking enforcement action against the contractor’s vehicles. The allegations have not been established in court.

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