SRINAGAR: A Special Anti-Corruption Court in Srinagar has convicted a former Patwari, Ghulam Qadir Bhat, in a 15-year-old bribery case, sentencing him to one year of imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs 10,000. The conviction relates to an incident in 2007 where Bhat, then a Patwari at Halqa Khushipora Zainkot, allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs 3,000 to process a land mutation.
Information was available with The Chenab Times that the Special Judge, Anti-Corruption Court Srinagar, Tasleem Arif, delivered the verdict on Monday in connection with FIR No. 20/2007, originally registered at Police Station VOK (now Anti-Corruption Bureau – ACB) Srinagar. The case, investigated by the ACB, found that Bhat had demanded and accepted the sum to expedite a land mutation in favour of the complainant.
The FIR was lodged on April 1, 2007, following allegations of bribery against Bhat. The investigation conducted by the police station VOK (now ACB) concluded that the charges against the accused public servant were substantiated through a combination of oral and documentary evidence collected during the inquiry.
A charge sheet was formally presented by the Police Station VOK to the Anti-Corruption Court in Srinagar on February 29, 2008, initiating the judicial process to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused.
Following the conviction, Bhat was sentenced under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, receiving a one-year jail term and the specified fine. Senior Prosecuting Officer Wajahat Jameel presented the case on behalf of the ACB Srinagar during the court proceedings.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
