The CBI on Monday arrested senior IAS officer Paramjit Singh, posted as the Director of Punjab Roadways, in Chandigarh for allegedly taking Rs 2 lakh bribe for recommending the name of an officer for promotion, officials said. The CBI had carried out a raid when Singh, who was elevated to IAS after promotion from state civil services, was allegedly receiving the bribe money for recommending the officer's name to Punjab's transport department principal secretary for promotion, they said.
The person from whom Singh had allegedly demanded the bribe approached the CBI with a complaint, they said. "It was alleged that the complainant was due for promotion to the rank of General Manager, for which a DPC was constituted in January, 2022 and the Director (Singh) was part of the said DPC (Departmental Promotion Committee).
"It was further alleged that the accused demanded bribe of Rs 5 lakh from the complainant for recommending his name to Principal Secretary, Transport, Government of Punjab, for promotion to the rank of General Manager,” CBI spokesperson RC Joshi said.
It was also alleged that the bribe amount was negotiated and the accused settled for Rs 2 lakh, he said. "The said Director (Singh), Punjab Roadways, Chandigarh allegedly threatened the complainant to bear the consequences in case the said bribe amount was not paid to him," Joshi said.
After getting a complaint and preliminary verification, the CBI laid a trap at the location where the alleged bribe money was to be paid, Joshi said. The team raided the location after getting the signal and caught Singh while allegedly accepting Rs 2 lakh, the officials said.
“Searches were conducted today on the premises of the accused in Chandigarh and Mohali,” Joshi said.
