Jammu, 14 April (H.S.): A former Patwari was convicted by the Anti-Corruption Court Srinagar in a long-pending bribery case and sentenced to one year of imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 10,000.

The judgment was pronounced by Special Judge, Anti-Corruption Court Srinagar, Tasleem Arif, in connection with FIR number 20/2007 registered at Police Station VOK (now ACB), Srinagar.

Officials said the accused, Ghulam Qadir Bhat, who was then posted as Patwari Halqa Khushipora Zainkot, was found guilty of demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 3,000 from a complainant for processing a mutation in his favour.

They said the case was registered on April 1, 2007 under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006 read with Section 161 RPC.

According to them, the investigation conducted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau established the allegations against the accused beyond doubt through both oral and documentary evidence.

After completion of the probe, the charge sheet was filed before the Anti-Corruption Court Srinagar on February 29, 2008 for judicial determination, officials said.

During the trial, the prosecution successfully proved that the accused had misused his official position for personal gain, they said.

The court, after examining the evidence on record, held the accused guilty and awarded the sentence accordingly, officials added.

The case on behalf of ACB Srinagar was argued by Senior Prosecuting Officer Wajahat Jameel.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar