Punjab Newsline | Jalandhar
Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), as part of its ongoing anti-corruption drive, has arrested a private passport agent in Jalandhar for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹20,000 to facilitate the early issuance of a passport through her purported contacts in the Passport Office.
According to an official spokesperson, the accused, identified as Hardeep Kaur, a private passport agent based in Jalandhar, was arrested following a complaint lodged by a resident of Kandola Kurd village in Phillaur tehsil of Jalandhar district.
The complainant stated that she had applied for a passport and her police verification had already been completed. However, when she visited the Passport Office in Jalandhar with the required original documents, a staff member allegedly informed her that the police verification had not been cleared.
After leaving the office, the complainant was approached by two private passport agents, identified as Narinder Pal Singh alias N.P. Singh and Hardeep Kaur, near a booth outside the Passport Office. The duo allegedly demanded ₹35,000 to secure the passport without police verification and assured her that it could be arranged through contacts within the Passport Office. The complainant reportedly recorded the conversation in which the bribe demand was made.
Refusing to pay the illegal gratification, the complainant approached the Vigilance Bureau’s Jalandhar Range. Acting on the complaint, the VB laid a trap and caught Hardeep Kaur red-handed while accepting ₹20,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.
The second accused, Narinder Pal Singh alias N.P. Singh, is yet to be arrested. Vigilance officials said the possible involvement of Passport Office employees would also be examined during the course of the investigation.
A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused at the Vigilance Bureau Police Station, Jalandhar. Further investigation is underway.
