Vigilance Bureau nabs architect red handed taking bribe Rs. 60,000 for Municipal Corporation officials

_Also arrests MC Jalandhar building inspector, an associate of architect_

Chandigarh, March 10 : Aiming to curb the menace of corruption in the state, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Friday nabbed an architect Rajwinder Singh, owner of Max Associates, Rama Mandi, Jalandhar red handed for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs. 60,000 in connivance with the concerned officials of Municipal Corporation Jalandhar to issue change of land use (CLU) certificate.

In this case, a confederate of the architect, namely Sukhwinder Sharma, posted as building inspector, MC Jalandhar, has also been arrested. His another collaborator, Varun, a draftsman and building inspector (Additional charge) of MC Jalandhar is still at large who would be arrested soon.

Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of VB said the above said accused architect have been arrested on the complaint of Tarunveer Singh, resident of Master Tara Singh Nagar, Jalandhar.

Giving more details, he informed that the said complainant has approached the VB and alleged that the above said architect, in connivance with above said MC officials, has demanded a bribe of Rs. five lakhs so as these officials could clear files of his two plots to issue CLUs as he want to construct a charitable hospital on the said plot. He further informed that the accused architect has demanded Rs 50,000 as an advance money for Varun and Rs 15,000 for Sukhwinder Kumar, both building inspectors. The complainant alleged that he had already paid a bribe of Rs 5,000 as a first instalment to the said architect.

After verifying this complaint, a VB team from Jalandhar unit laid a trap and the accused architect has been caught red handed while accepting a bribe of Rs. 60,000 for the above said MC officials in the presence of two official witnesses.

The spokesperson further added that after the arrest of above said architect, the VB team has also arrested Sukhwinder Sharma, building inspector of MC Jalandhar. He informed that teams have been deputed to arrest the absconding accused Varun in this case.

He informed that a case under prevention of corruption act has been registered against all the accused at VB police Jalandhar and further investigation was under progress. He added that during investigation the modus operandi of all the accused would also be probed to take bribes from common people.