In a significant crackdown on corruption, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) apprehended the Drug Control Officer (DCO) of Handwara in the Bumhama area Kupwara on Tuesday.
According to ACB officials, the arrest came in response to persistent complaints against the officer for soliciting and accepting bribes from a medical shop owner.
ACB officials revealed that a series of complaints prompted them to launch a meticulous operation to catch the corrupt officer. Despite evading previous traps, the DCO was caught red-handed during a carefully orchestrated operation on Tuesday.
The investigation unveiled that the officer had recently seized medicine from a medical store in the Villgam area. Instead of adhering to the prescribed procedure of taking the confiscated drugs to his office, he unlawfully left them at a medical store in Handwara.
The DCO identified as Ishtiyaq Ahmad allegedly demanded a bribe from a complainant for releasing the seized medicine, a deviation from the established norms. According to ACB officials, as mandated by regulations, the officer failed to provide the necessary receipt for the confiscated drugs.
The accused was subsequently taken to Handwara to identify the drugs left at the medical store. Reports indicate that the DCO had been extorting bribes from various medical shop owners, creating a hostile environment for them.
The news of the arrest quickly spread, earning praise from the public for the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s decisive action against employees engaging in corrupt practices.
