DW BUREAU
Recently a video went viral of some people from the nearby village of Maanki accusing a local patwari (land record officer) of demanding a bribe of Rs 7 lakh to process the registration (intkal) of a disputed piece of land. In the video, the complainants claimed that the patwari demanded bribe in exchange for registering the intkal.

When this matter came to the notice of Rajneesh Arora, SDM Samrala, and Tehsildar Harish Kumar, they conducted a thorough investigation into the complaint.

It was also revealed that the registration of the disputed land, which took place some time ago, was also under suspicion. When the complaint was found to be false, the complainants apologized in writing to the SDM, the Tehsildar, and the media to avoid further consequences. The complainants said that they had taken this step in a moment of emotional upheaval, for which they were now seeking forgiveness.

According to the information received, some people from Maanki village were trying to grab the disputed land of a dera (a religious or social institution) and wanted to have the intkal registered in the documents of a recent registration.

They made a video at the patwar office and accused the patwari of asking for a bribe. When SDM Rajneesh Arora sought to uncover the truth from the complainants, they said that government employees are scared due to the campaign being run by the Punjab government in the state. They wanted to intimidate the patwaris into

doing their work.
(editor@dailyworld.in)