Rajasthan minister orders FIR against junior engineer over bribe during Seva Pakhwada camp

Kota (Rajasthan) Oct 31 (PTI) Rajasthan Education and Panchayati Raj Minister Madan Dilawar on Friday directed the police to file a case against a Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (JVVNL) engineer.

The order came after a primary verification of a complaint alleging that a junior engineer had demanded and collected money illegally during a Seva Pakhwada camp held in Devli Khurd village of the Kota district.

Dilawar was attending the Seva Pakhwada camp in his constituency, Ramganjmandi's Devli Khurd village, when two women, Kamla Bai and Pinky, both residents of Devli Khurd and belonging to the Nat community, complained to him, alleging that junior engineer Santosh Kumar had demanded Rs 2,000 each, citing their names under the Prime Minister Housing Scheme.

The women further alleged the engineer assured them that the instalments would be deposited in their bank accounts after payment and allegedly claimed himself to be a superior officer to the Gram Sachiv, saying "Aunty ji, I'm not taking much, I'm only asking for 2,000." The minister immediately called the engineer on the spot, who denied the allegations, claiming the women were lying. However, several other women in the camp supported Kamla Bai, who swore on her children that the charges she made were not false.

When the woman showed the minister an entry of a fresh name made by the engineer in her ration card, Dilawar asked for the register from the concerned electricity department for verification.

Upon initial matching of the handwriting in the register, the minister instructed the Station House Officer (SHO) Manoj Sikarwal to lodge an FIR against the engineer.

However, he is yet to receive a report from the woman as he is presently in the escort of the minister himself, Sikarwal said. PTI CORR SMV SMV MPL MPL