Chandigarh/Patiala, March 26
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), as part of its ongoing anti-corruption drive, has arrested Assistant Sub-Inspector Harpal Singh, posted at the Counter Intelligence Office in Patiala, red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹20,000.
An official spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau disclosed that the arrest was made following a complaint lodged by a resident of Tehsil Nabha, Patiala district.
According to the complaint, an enquiry was being conducted regarding the involvement of the complainant’s relative in a Khalistani movement in 2023. The accused ASI Harpal Singh allegedly called the complainant to the Counter Intelligence Office and told him that he too was involved in the case along with his relative. The complainant alleged that the ASI demanded a bribe of ₹20,000 in exchange for submitting a favourable enquiry report, which was required by the complainant for his travel abroad.
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Unwilling to pay the illegal gratification, the complainant approached the Vigilance Bureau’s Patiala range office. After a preliminary enquiry, the VB team laid a trap and arrested ASI Harpal Singh red-handed while he was accepting the bribe of ₹20,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.
A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused at the Vigilance Bureau Police Station, Patiala. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
