Srinagar, Dec 03 (KNZ): The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has filed a charge-sheet against Aijaz Ahmad Shegen, the then Patwari of Halqa Khanyar Srinagar, along with his two associates, in connection with a 2022 bribery trap case.
According to an ACB spokesperson, the charge-sheet in FIR No. 35/2022, registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 120-B IPC, was submitted before the Hon’ble Special Judge Anti-Corruption Court, Srinagar on Tuesday.
The case was initiated following a written complaint lodged on 01 September 2022, alleging that the Patwari had demanded a bribe of ₹7,000 for issuing revenue extracts. Acting on the complaint, ACB laid a trap during which two touts—Showkat Ahmad Budoo and Mohammad Yousuf Dar—were caught red-handed while accepting the bribe amount on behalf of Patwari Shegen.
The bribe money was recovered on the spot, and subsequent chemical tests confirmed the presence of phenolphthalein powder on the hands of the arrested touts, the ACB said.
The investigation, supported by substantial evidence, established offences under Sections 7, 7A, and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, along with Section 120-B IPC, against the accused government official and his accomplices.
Following the grant of prosecution sanction from the Government, ACB completed the formalities and presented the charge-sheet before the Special Anti-Corruption Court.
The case has been listed for the next hearing on 16 February 2026.(knz)
