Punjab Vigilance Bureau caught seed certification officer red handed taking Rs 50,000 bribe

Punjab News: Punjab Vigilance Bureau, during the ongoing campaign against corruption in the state, has caught Amritpal Singh, Seed Certification Officer posted at Punjab State Seed Certification Authority, Ludhiana, red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000.

Giving information in this regard, an official spokesperson of the State Vigilance Bureau said that the said accused has been arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged by a resident of Ward No. 10 of District Mansa.

Officer responsible for 510 hectare crop inspection

The spokesperson said that the complainant is a seed producer, who runs M/s Punjab Agri Seed Farm in Mansa. His firm procures breeder seeds (first grade seeds) from agricultural universities in Punjab or outside the state and prepares seeds from the purchased crops. The complainant said that his firm had sown wheat seeds in about 510 hectares (1275 acres) of land through various universities and foundation seed sources. The responsibility of investigation of this crop was of accused Amritpal Singh, Seed Certification Officer.

Demand for bribe in exchange for report

In this regard, the accused had come to the farm about 10 days ago to inspect the sown crop and asked to be shown the crop fields. The complainant alleged that the accused demanded a bribe of Rs 200 per hectare (510×200 = Rs 1,02,000) in exchange for making the inspection report favorable to the crop. The complainant had recorded the conversation while demanding bribe.

Officer arrested red handed for taking Rs 50,000 bribe

Since the complainant did not want to pay the bribe, he contacted Vigilance Bureau Range Bathinda. After preliminary investigation of the complaint, the Vigilance Bureau team laid a trap, during which the accused seed certification officer was arrested red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 from the complainant in the presence of two government witnesses.

In this regard, a case has been registered against the accused in Vigilance Bureau police station Bathinda under the Prevention of Corruption Act and further investigation is going on.