UP: Forest dept clerk in Mathura held while accepting 'bribe'

Mathura (UP), Jul 11 (PTI) A senior clerk of the forest department in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura was caught red-handed on Friday while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 for clearing a file related to the setting up of a petrol pump, officials said.

The Anti-Corruption Squad from Agra arrested the official and registered a case against him at the Jamuna Paar police station. He will be produced before the anti-corruption court in Meerut on Saturday, an official said.

According to squad in-charge Sahdev Singh, Indian Oil Corporation approved an application in 2022 submitted by Rajan Singh, a resident of Nagla Hasanpur, for setting up a petrol pump. However, the file remained stuck in the forest department due to the non-issuance of a no-objection certificate (NOC).

Upon inquiring, the applicant discovered that the file was being deliberately held back by the department's head clerk, Kishore Chaturvedi. When Rajan Singh, along with his brother-in-law Rohitash Singh, approached Chaturvedi, the latter allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 2 lakh to release the file.

When they expressed their inability to pay the full amount, the official agreed to accept Rs 50,000 as the first installment, the applicant said.

Following this, the applicant's brother-in-law filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Squad in Agra. After verifying the allegations, an Anti-Corruption Squad team laid a trap and caught Chaturvedi red-handed while he was accepting the bribe at the Social Forestry Division office in Mathura on Friday afternoon.

The officials said an FIR under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been filed and the accused will be presented before the special court in Meerut on Saturday. PTI COR KIS RC