Lawyer caught accepting ‘bribe’ for patwari

Bhiwani: The Haryana state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau on Tuesday claimed to have arrested an advocate red-handed while allegedly accepting a Rs 1 lakh bribe on behalf of a patwari (junior revenue field official) in Bhiwani district.The operation unfolded at the Bawani Khera tehsil office, where officials trapped the accused during a planned sting operation linked to a land partition dispute involving nearly 40 acres of agricultural land.The arrested accused has been identified as advocate Bhupender. Patwari Narendra Kumar has also been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). A case has been registered at the state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau police station in Hisar under Sections 7 and 7A of the PCA.The action followed a complaint by Parveen Kumar, a resident of Siwada village in Bhiwani district. Kumar alleged that patwari Narendra demanded Rs 1 lakh to process the partition of jointly owned agricultural land and prepare the required revenue documents.The complainant claimed that despite submitting the necessary paperwork, the work was deliberately stalled to pressure him into paying the bribe.Investigators said that on May 15, the patwari introduced advocate Bhupender as a middleman. Later, on May 18, the advocate reportedly agreed to collect the bribe amount on behalf of the revenue official.The complainant also submitted audio recordings of the alleged bribery conversations to the bureau, following which officials initiated verification proceedings.After verifying the complaint, the state vigilance and ACB unit in Bhiwani laid a trap and caught advocate Bhupender accepting Rs 1 lakh in bribe money in the presence of Surender Thakral, fisheries officer, Bhiwani, and an independent witness.A video linked to the operation has also surfaced, in which the accused advocate could be heard telling officials, "Video mat banana (don't make a video)", moments after being caught.Officials said further investigation is underway to determine whether more individuals were involved in the network linked to land and revenue-related work in the region.