The Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV-ACB) on Wednesday arrested three persons, including an estate officer, a rent clerk, and a peon of the Waqf Board office, in Sonepat, for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹3 lakh to process files related to the lease of shop plots in Gohana, officials said.
The arrested accused have been identified as estate officer Mohammad Saleem, a resident of Nuh; rent clerk Mohammad Tahir, a resident of Pataudi in Gurugram district; and a peon named Saleem, who worked at the office.
According to the complaint filed by Satish Kumar, a resident of Kishan Colony in Gohana, he and three associates had applied to the Haryana Waqf Board last year for the lease of shop plots. They allegedly paid ₹1 lakh as an advance and another ₹2 lakh towards other charges but did not receive official receipts, leading to delays in processing their files.
About a month ago, the peon allegedly told Satish that the files had been revised and asked him to bring ₹3 lakh to the Waqf Board office. When the complainant sought clarification about the amount for which receipts would be issued, the accused allegedly declined to specify it but claimed the files were kept in the estate officer’s room and that the officer would issue the receipts.
Satish filed a complaint, after which the bureau registered a case at its Rohtak office and constituted a team led by inspector Mohinder Singh of Jind sub-centre.
As part of a trap, the complainant was sent to the Waqf Board office with the money. The ACB team arrested all three accused after the ₹3 lakh was allegedly handed over to them on the office premises. Police have booked the accused under Sections 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The ACB stated that further investigation and legal proceedings in the case are underway.