Forest Officials Arrested for Bribery in Kathua

Two forest department officials in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district were arrested for accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 to release pending payment to a contractor. The Anti-Corruption Bureau confirmed the bribe demand and caught the officials red-handed, leading to their arrest and an ongoing investigation.

Two forest department officials were arrested in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district for allegedly accepting a bribe to release pending bills, as per an Anti-Corruption Bureau official.

The officials, Forester Rashpaul Singh and forest guard Avdesh Singh, were apprehended while taking Rs 15,000 in illegal gratification. This was meant to release over Rs 2.81 lakh in pending payments to a contractor who had undertaken various forestry tasks in the Budhi block forest range.

A case was registered following discreet verification, leading to a successful sting operation. Both accused were caught red-handed and subsequently arrested. Searches in their homes are ongoing as part of the investigation.

(With inputs from agencies.)