Army official, his associate held taking bribe

The CBI on Thursday arrested an Army officer who was working as a Garrison Engineer, and an Assistant Garrison Engineer for taking a bribe of Rs 50,000 and 30 gold coins in Karnataka, an official said.

The Army official, identified as Lt. Col. J.S. Bath, and Assistant Garrison Engineer R.B. Chawan, who are deputed to MES, Karwar, were held while accepting the bribe for clearing pending bills of a civil contractor, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official said.

The central probe agency has booked the arrested persons under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act following a complaint against them.

"It was alleged in the complaint that the two officials demanded Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 1 lakh, respectively, from a civil contractor for clearing his pending bills and for the payments already made," the CBI official said.

"They demanded Rs 50,000 each as the first instalment in the form of gold and cash. The CBI laid a trap and the Garrison Engineer was caught red-handed while accepting 30 gold coins (total 15 grams) while the Assistant Engineer was accepting Rs 50,000 from the complainant."

The agency also conducted searches on the premises of the arrested officers.

--IANS

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