Forest Guard, Private Man Held in ₹100 Bribery Trap at Kutch Checkpost

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has caught a private person allegedly accepting a ₹100 bribe on behalf of a Forest Guard during a decoy operation at the Surajbari Forest Checkpost in Bhachau taluka of Kutch district.

The operation was carried out on August 24 after the ACB received information that officials and employees at the Surajbari Forest Checkpost, along with their alleged associates, were demanding illegal payments ranging from ₹100 to ₹1,000 from drivers transporting wood.

According to the ACB, the payments were allegedly demanded for making entries in vehicle passes and the official register.

The accused have been identified as Jamansa Osaman Syed, a private person residing at Budhar Mora in Anjar, and Hareshbhai Hemrajbhai Chaudhary, who works as a Forest Guard in the Bhachau Normal Range.

ACB Sets Up Decoy Trap

Acting on the information received, the Gandhidham ACB organised a decoy operation with the help of an alert citizen.

The ACB alleged that Jamansa Syed demanded ₹100 from the decoy in exchange for ensuring that the required entry or stamp was made in the vehicle pass.

During the trap at the Surajbari Forest Checkpost office, the private accused was allegedly caught accepting the ₹100 bribe. The entire amount was recovered during the operation.

The ACB said the alleged bribe demand and acceptance were linked to the work of entering the required details in the vehicle pass.

Further legal action is being taken against both accused in connection with the case. The trap was conducted under the supervision of Police Inspector H V Chaudhary of the Kutch (East) ACB unit based in Gandhidham.