Probe into EO's bribe case begins

FARIDKOT: The Vigilance Bureau (VB) has started inquiry into the matter of alleged demand of illegal gratification by the executive officer (EO) of Kotkapura nagar council from tenants of council property.
A vigilance inspector, on Wednesday, recorded the statements of some of the tenants.
The Kotkapura Stall Holder Sabha, an organisation of nagar council tenants, had submitted a complaint to the Punjab vigilance director alleging that EO Pawan Kumar Gupta had demanded Rs 500 each from the tenants under threat of dispossessing them from council property.
On Thursday, hundreds of tenants held a protest rally in front of nagar council office demanding action against the EO.
The Kotkapura nagar council has more than 100 shops in the town which have been leased to shopkeepers on monthly rent. Most of the tenants stopped paying rent to the council a few months ago on the ground that the property was owned by the Punjab government instead of the council. The council passed a resolution for vacating the shops from the tenants.
The tenants challenged this resolution in the court of Faridkot deputy commissioner but the DC held the resolution valid and dismissed the case of the tenants a few days ago.
The tenants alleged that since the day of DCs decision, the EO was threatening them to get the shops forcibly vacated if they did not pay illegal gratification of Rs 500 each. EO Pawan Kumar Gupta, when contacted, declined to comment.