Vigilance Bureau : The accused had earlier accepted a bribe of Rs 20,000 for installing the meter.
As part of its ongoing anti-corruption campaign, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has caught Kamalpreet Singh, a lineman, and Kuldip Singh, a meter reader, both working at the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) office in Focal Point, Ludhiana, while they were accepting the second installment of a bribe amounting to Rs. 5000.
An official spokesperson of the state Vigilance Bureau revealed today that the accused were arrested following a complaint filed by Sandeep Singh, a resident of Jamalpur in Ludhiana.
Vigilance Bureau further mentioned that the complainant had approached the Vigilance Bureau , alleging that the accused lineman had demanded a bribe of Rs 30,000 to replace a burnt meter and install a new electricity meter at his showroom. The complainant stated that the lineman had already accepted Rs 20,000 for this task and was now asking for the remaining Rs 10,000.
The spokesperson further stated that following a preliminary inquiry into the complaint, a Vigilance Bureau team from the Ludhiana unit set up a trap. During this operation, the accused lineman and meter reader were caught red-handed while accepting the second installment of the bribe amounting to Rs 5,000 from the complainant at his showroom, in the presence of two official witnesses. A case has been registered against both accused officials under the Prevention of Corruption Act at the VB police station in the Ludhiana range, and further investigation is ongoing.