Held for graft, patwari now in 4-day police remand

The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation patwari, who had been arrested for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 21 lakh from a Manimajra resident, was remanded in four-day police custody on Thursday. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested the accused Balraj Singh from the parking area of the District Court Complex, Sector 43, on Wednesday after allegedly catching him red-handed accepting Rs 50,000 from Manimajra resident Jasminder Singh.

The CBI has sought the patwari's custody on the grounds that he has revealed the names of senior officials involved in the crime and thus the premier investigating agency needed time to verify the details. Also, the modus operandi is yet to be established. "Incriminating documents which have been recovered from the residence of the accused are yet to be verified," said public prosecutor, Manmohan Sharma.

Patwari Balraj's counsel Vishal Garg Narwana, however, said: "The documents which have been recovered pertain to the marriage of his brother in 1971. Also, the property documents belong to Balraj's brother-in-law, who lives with him." The counsel also demanded a copy of the transcriptions between the patwari and the complainant Jasminder Singh before the trap was laid.

The patwari has also claimed that the file, for which the trap was laid, was already sent to senior officials after it was cleared by the accused on February 12, one day before the trap was laid. The Patwari's wife had also disclosed the sale and purchase of property by the accused. In all, from his two lockers and four bank accounts, Rs 1,64,535 have been recovered along with the documents.

The CBI, however, refused to share the transcripts and any other documents apart from the FIR as they stated in the court that it may hamper the investigations.

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