The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Jammu and Kashmir said on Saturday that it has arrested a tehsildar for allegedly demanding ₹1,00,000 as a bribe from a Handwara resident for granting permission to fell walnut trees.

According to a statement by the ACB, the complainant accused Ghulam Rasool Bhat, the tehsildar of Kralgund, of taking ₹50,000 as an advance and still not issuing the permission for cutting the trees. The complainant also stated that he told the revenue officials that he could not afford to pay the money, but the officer insisted on the complete payment.

After verification of the facts, a case was registered against the tehsildar and his tout, Rafi Ahmed Lone. Later, the ACB team caught both men. During a search of the tehsildar’s premises, the team also allegedly recovered ₹50,000 paid by the complainant, besides another bundle of ₹79,000. The accused were presented before the court, which ordered police custody for them for the next seven days, according to the agency.

Another Case of Bribery

In a separate case, the ACB arrested police head constable Roshan Din, who was on the run after being identified as one of the accused in a bribery case. Din had demanded ₹15,000 from the complainant for deleting his name from a list of accused persons in an FIR, despite the fact that the complainant produced CCTV footage showing his presence and attendance at a factory on the date of the alleged incident.

While accepting the bribe from the complainant, Din sensed the presence of ACB officials at the spot and immediately fled. He threw the money into the bushes on the national highway near Palli, which was recovered by independent witnesses and seized by the officials, according to the concerned agency.

Later, Din was spotted at Kathua police station.