Faizpura patwari held for taking bribe

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 16

The Vigilance Bureau has arrested a patwari while accepting Rs 10,000 as bribe for issuing ‘fard’ for a shop owned by a Dera Baba Nanak resident. The trap to arrest the Patwari red-handed was laid after the owner of the shop, Amandeep Singh, had contacted Vigilance officials to seek their help.

The patwari, Balwinder Singh, was in charge of the revenue circle, Faizpura, in the Batala subdivision of Gurdaspur.

In a complaint to the Vigilance Bureau, Amandeep Singh said he had purchased a shop at Batala around nine months ago. He said he had been asking the patwari to register the ‘intqal’ of the property in his name. He alleged that the patwari was demanding Rs 12,000 to do the needful.

Vigilance Bureau Amritsar unit’s Inspector Mulakh Raj said the complainant had already given Rs 2,000 to the patwari. He alleged that 10 marked currency notes of Rs 1,000 each were handed over to the patwari in the presence of government witnesses yesterday after which he was arrested. A case against the patwari has been registered at the Vigilance Bureau police station Amritsar.