Chandigarh, Jun 12 (PTI) Two Punjab Police employees were arrested for collecting Rs 26 lakh from 102 people on the pretext of getting them jobs in their department, the state's vigilance bureau said on Wednesday.

The accused were identified as Tarlochan Pal, posted in the 3rd IRB (India Reserve Battalion) as a cleaner and Surinderpal, posted as a barber at the Punjab Police Academy in Phillaur.

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Pal is a resident of Mohalla Begampur in Adampur, Jalandhar and Surinderpal hails from Sikri village in Nilokheri, Karnal in Haryana.

An official spokesperson of the bureau said both the accused were arrested following an investigation of a complaint lodged at the chief minister's anti-corruption action line portal by Surinder Singh, a resident of Nanglan village, Garhshankar in Hoshiarpur.

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The spokesperson said during the preliminary investigation, the charges made by the complainant were found to be accurate, leading to the registration of a fraud case against both the accused.

Investigation revealed that the accused had falsely assured the victims that about 560 grade-four vacancies were to be filled in the Punjab Police in the coming months, he said.

They demanded Rs 25,000 per person to secure the jobs thereby collecting a huge sum from individuals across the state, he added.

The spokesperson informed that during the probe, it was found that a total of Rs 26,02,926 were collected as bribes by both the accused from about 102 persons on the pretext of getting them jobs.

Consequently, a case under Sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, and under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)