JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday trapped and arrested Chuni Lal, Patwari of Patwar Halqa Dansal in Jammu, for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000 from a local resident in exchange for providing a land demarcation report.
According to the ACB, the complainant had approached Chuni Lal for a demarcation report of his land, but the Patwari allegedly demanded Rs 1,00,000 as illegal gratification. After negotiation, the bribe amount was reduced to Rs 75,000, with Rs 25,000 to be paid as the first instalment. However, the complainant, unwilling to pay the bribe, approached the ACB and lodged a formal complaint.
Following discreet verification of the allegations, which confirmed the Patwari’s demand, the ACB registered FIR No. 15/2025 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 at ACB Police Station Jammu.
Subsequently, a trap team led by a Gazetted Officer was formed. The team laid a successful trap and caught Chuni Lal red-handed while accepting ₹20,000—the amount the complainant had managed to arrange as the first instalment—in the presence of independent witnesses.
The accused was immediately arrested, and the bribe money was recovered from his possession. In addition, searches were carried out at the office and the in-laws’ house of the accused in the presence of a magistrate and independent witnesses.
Further investigation in the case is underway, the ACB said in a statement.
