Srinagar: The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Muzaffar Ahmad Rather, Sarpanch of Manigam-A village, for demanding and accepting a bribe of rupees 9000 in exchange for settling a property dispute between a complainant and his sister.
A complaint filed against the Sarpanch of Manigam-A village revealed allegations of repeated bribery demands for settling a property dispute. Initially, the Sarpanch demanded ₹20,000, but after negotiations, he agreed to accept ₹9,000 from the complainant.
Unwilling to give in to the corrupt demands, the complainant approached the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Srinagar with a written complaint, alleging repeated demands for a bribe from the Sarpanch for resolving the issue.
A successful trap operation was carried out by the ACB team, catching the accused red-handed while accepting the bribe. Further investigation is ongoing, reads the statement.
A Sarpanch is the elected head of a village-level local self-government body known as the Gram Panchayat and the lowest tier of the Panchayati Raj system.
(GNS)
