Jammu, 03- Dec: In a major drive against corruption, the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) today arrested three Engineers of Works Department including one Superintending Engineer red handed while taking corruption of Rs 1.5 lakh in Udhampur district. In a rare case, the trio were also caught taking cheque worth Rs 1.1 lakh in graft.The Engineers arrested by the CBI have been identified as Hilal Ahmad Sheikh, Superintending Engineer PWD, TK Koul, Technical Officer (TO) who is in the rank of Assistant Executive Engineer and Sanjay Koul, Junior Engineer.Official sources told that the CBI team raided the office of the Superintending Engineer in Udhampur of Works Department this evening after getting complaint that the Engineers were demanding Rs 3 lakh corruption from a contractor for settling a case.“The Engineers insisted on Rs 3 lakh graft but the deal was finally settled for Rs 1.5 lakh with the complainant,” the sources said, adding the CBI team caught the Engineers red handed while taking corruption includingThe arrests were made in the presence of independent witnesses and cash worth Rs 40,000 and a cheque amounting to Rs 1.1 lakh were seized from the possession of accused.Sources said this was a rare case for them in which the corruption was taken in the form of a cheque as well.As arrests were made late tonight, the CBI sleuths were in the process of shifting the accused to Jammu where the Agency has designated Police Station after completion of all legal formalities. They are likely to be produced before the Anti-Corruption Court tomorrow morning.Sources said a case has been registered in connection with the corruption by the CBI for further investigations. Possibility of involvement of some more officials of the Works Department is not ruled out at this stage but the things would be clear only during the investigations, they added.It may be mentioned here that the CBI got jurisdiction over all offices of Jammu and Kashmir after erstwhile State was converted into a Union Territory and since then has registered number of cases and arrested many corrupt officers/officials.(CNS)
