ACB traps forest official for accepting bribe in Bandipora

Bandipora, Dec 28: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) apprehended Range Officer of Khuihama Forest Division in North Kashmir’s Bandipora district, red-handed while allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹10,000.
A top official of ACB told Rising Kashmir that the action was initiated based on a written complaint from a contractor who accused the Forest Range Officer of Bandipora’s Khuihama forest range namely Mushtaq Ahmad Sofi of seeking a commission for processing a bill related to due payments.
He said that according to the complainant, who completed a project for ₹3,21,000, the forest department had released two bills in his favour. However, the final bill of approximately Rs. One lac had been pending for over a month and a half.
The Range Officer demanded a bribe of ₹15,000 for processing all three bills and was eventually settled on ₹10,000 after negotiations, he said.
Upon receiving the complaint, the ACB registered FIR No. 13/2023 at PS ACB Baramulla under Section 7 of the PC Act 1988, the official said adding that a trap team, led by a DySP-ranked officer, successfully caught Mushtaq Ahmad Sofi in the act of accepting the bribe.
The entire operation was conducted in accordance with due legal procedures, with the recovered bribe amount verified in the presence of independent witnesses, he added.
The official said that following the arrest, Sofi was taken into custody, and searches were conducted at his residence.
Further investigations of the case were going on when this report was filed.