J-K govt official suspended on bribery charges

A government official was placed under suspension on Friday in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir on the charges of corruption which he admitted when asked to swear on the Quran, officials said.

Rural Development Department employee Mohammad Amin was accused of taking Rs 38,000 as bribe from two people for release of payments under the rural job guarantee scheme MGNREGA, the officials said.

Acting on a complaint, Kishtwar district development commissioner Angrez Singh Rana asked the accused to "swear on the holy Quran", but the "erring official fumbled and afterwards admitted to taking Rs 30,000 from one of the complainants," they said.

The accused official said that "he further gave the amount to the junior engineer concerned for the preparation of work bill", they said.

The officials said the Senior Superintendent of Police has been asked to investigate the matter and take further necessary action.