SFC divisional manager caught taking bribe in J-K's Udhampur

A divisional manager in State Forest Corporation (SFC) was caught by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Tuesday while taking bribe from a contractor in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir, an official said.

Puran Chand Bhagat was caught accepting Rs 30,000 in the presence of independent witnesses in his office-cum-residence complex at Udhampur for releasing contractors' pending payment, an ACB spokesperson said.

A case under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against Bhagat, the spokesman said.

The contractor, Romesh Chander, had lodged a complaint with the ACB alleging that the officer demanded Rs 48,000 as bribe for the release of his payment, the spokesperson said.

The contractor had further alleged that Bhagat asked him to pay Rs 30,000 as advance and rest Rs 18,000 after release of the payment for his work, the spokesperson said.

Chander is working as a contractor with the SFC in Udhampur from the last 20 years and had been allotted extraction, transportation, loading and unloading work by the department.