New Delhi: A former Congress councillor has been sentenced to four years in jail by a Delhi court for taking Rs 10,000 as bribe from an MCD employee for getting his transfer cancelled.
District Judge P S Teji sent 60-year-old Khajan Singh to jail after holding him guilty of demanding and accepting bribe from an MCD beldar (head labourer), who had been transferred to a far off place earlier for not bribing the councillor. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Singh, erstwhile Usmanpur councillor, for misusing his office to take bribe.
"I am of considered opinion that the prosecution has duly established that there was demand of bribe by accused prior to making complaint by complainant to the CBI for getting cancelled his transfer order. It has further been established that at the spot also, accused demanded and accepted the bribe money of Rs 10,000 from the complainant," the judge said.
The court said the voice expert report also corroborates the case of CBI to the effect that Singh was present at the spot and he demanded and accepted the bribe from complainant Narender Kumar Sharma. According to the CBI, Sharma was working as a beldar with the MCD and was posted at Shahdara office in East Delhi. It said Singh had demanded Rs 20,000 from him in July 2004 and on refusal, the councillor threatened him to transfer to a far off place to Najafgarh or Narela.
Sharma, earning Rs 7,000 per month, was transferred to Narela when he failed to pay the money to Singh. After the transfer orders, the complainant again met Singh who asked him to pay Rs 50,000 to get his transfer revoked.
As Sharma did not want to give bribe to Singh, he made a complaint to the CBI.
PTI