7 booked for extorting money from officials

The Tribune: Ambala: Friday, November 30, 2018.

The police have booked seven persons and some unidentified officials of the Vigilance Bureau (VB) on the charge of extorting money from government officials.

The accused are Rajinder, Ashwini, Sonu, Aneet, Mohan, Balkar and Naresh, all residents of the district.

On the complaint of Pipli Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO) Pratap Singh, the accused have been booked under Sections 34 and 384 of the IPC at the Baldev Nagar police station.

The accused used the RTI Act to extract incriminating information from government records and, on the basis of it, extorted money from government officials and employees, the BDPO alleged in his complaint.

A few days ago, they had allegedly extorted money from a government contractor by allegedly making a complaint to the VB, the FIR states and adds that a person, harassed by the accused, had reportedly committed suicide.

The BDPO said one of the accused, Sonu, had threatened him that Rajinder would file a complaint against him (BDPO) in connection with the dustbin scam that had hit the MC two years ago. They demanded Rs5 lakh, or else they would file a complaint with the VB, the BDPO alleged.