Handwara, October 12: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday caught a Senior Assistant posted at the Sub-Division Agriculture Office, Handwara, red-handed while allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000 for the release of a pending subsidy bill.
The accused has been identified as Irshad Ahmad Peer , Senior Assistant at the Sub-Division Agriculture Office, Handwara.
According to an official press note issued by the ACB, Police Station Baramulla received a written complaint alleging that the accused had demanded ₹40,000 from the complainant in exchange for clearing a subsidy bill related to a tractor purchased by the complainant’s brother under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) scheme.
Following the complaint, the ACB Baramulla conducted a discreet verification, during which the allegations of demand for a bribe were found to be substantiated.
Based on the complaint and the verification report, a prima facie case under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018, was established. Accordingly, FIR No. 06/2026 was registered at ACB Police Station Baramulla on October 12, 2026, and an investigation was initiated.
Immediately after registration of the case, the ACB constituted a trap team in the presence of independent witnesses as per the prescribed procedure. During the operation, the accused public servant was allegedly caught red-handed while demanding and accepting the bribe amount of ₹40,000.
The bribe money was recovered from his conscious possession, and the recovery was corroborated by other surrounding evidence, the press note stated.
The accused has been arrested and taken into custody, while further investigation into the case is underway.
