Asif Iqbal Naik
Jammu, January 6, 2026—The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday trapped and arrested a Patwari for demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹5,000 in Udhampur district.
According to an official spokesperson, the ACB registered a case against public servant Pardhan Singh, Patwari, Patwar Halqa Laddha, Tehsil Moungri, District Udhampur, along with the concerned Girdawar, for demanding illegal gratification from a complainant.
The accused Patwari had allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹10,000 from the complainant for processing ‘Virasiti Intkal’ and providing its ‘nakal’. Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the Anti-Corruption Bureau seeking legal action against the accused under the law.
On receipt of the complaint, a discreet verification was conducted, which corroborated the demand of bribe by the accused public servant. Accordingly, a case FIR No. 01/2026 under Section 07 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 61(2) of BNS, 2023 was registered at Police Station ACB Udhampur and investigation was taken up.
During the course of investigation, a trap team headed by an officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police was constituted. The team laid a successful trap, during which the accused was caught red-handed while demanding and accepting a bribe amount of ₹5,000 from the complainant in the presence of independent witnesses.
The accused was arrested on the spot after following due process of law, and the bribe money was recovered from his possession in the presence of independent witnesses associated with the trap team.
Meanwhile, searches were also conducted at the rented accommodation of the accused located at Sailan Talab, Udhampur, and Basnote, Tehsil Moungri, District Udhampur, in the presence of a Magistrate as further investigation in the case is underway.
