Representative image for bribe.
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Chandigarh: Two officials deputed for the panchayat elections last month have been booked for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 15 lakh, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau said on Thursday.
The duo had allegedly taken the bribe from a candidate for the sarpanch post, the bureau said.
Gulab Singh, Sub Divisional Officer (SDO), and Davinder Singh, Agricultural Sub-Inspector, were deployed as the returning officer and assistant returning officer, respectively, during the polls, it said.
A spokesperson of the bureau said the complaint was lodged by Gurpreet Singh, a farmer from Mana Singh Wala village, Ghall Khurd block in Ferozepur.
During the investigation, it was found that the complainant had filed his nomination papers to contest election for the sarpanch post from his village.
The complainant alleged that Gulab had demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs 10 lakh from him in the presence of Davinder.
Later, an unknown individual collected another Rs 5 lakh on behalf of Gulab Singh. The complainant further alleged that despite paying a bribe, his nomination papers were rejected.
Both the accused had conspired to extort money from the complainant in lieu of not rejecting his nomination papers, said the spokesperson.
A case has been registered against the accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the spokesperson added.