Chandigarh, Nov 3 (PTI) The Punjab Vigilance Bureau said it has arrested two doctors, including a senior medical officer, on Friday on charges of taking a bribe from a chemist.

Dr Poonam Goel, SMO, Sahnewal and Dr Gaurav Jain, a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) doctor, both posted in the Community Health Centre (CHC) Sahnewal, district Ludhiana were arrested while taking a bribe of Rs 15,000, a spokesperson of the bureau said in a statement.

Also Read | Chhattisgarh Foundation Day 2023 Date and Significance: Know History of Chhattisgarh Rajyotsava Day When the State Was Formed.

The spokesperson said the doctors have been arrested on a complaint lodged by a resident of Guru Arjun Dev Nagar, Sahnewal.

The complainant had visited the bureau's range office in Ludhiana and recorded his statement alleging that the accused were demanding a bribe from him.

Also Read | Karnataka Rajyotsava Day 2023 Date: Know History and Significance of the Day When the State of Karnataka Was Formed.

He told the bureau that he runs a chemist shop at Sahnewal. Jain and two others came to his shop for checking on October 26 and told his brother present that there was a complaint against the complainant for allegedly selling medicines without a licence and running an illegal pathological laboratory.

Before leaving his shop Jain told the complainant's brother that the latter should meet SMO Goel.

The complainant further told the bureau that when he met Goel she allegedly threatened to seal his chemist shop and get a case registered against him.

She told him to meet Jain to settle the matter. Thereafter, Jain told the complainant that the SMO was demanding Rs 1 lakh as a bribe but the deal was struck at Rs 20,000.

"The complainant informed the bureau that Jain had already taken Rs 5,000 on the same day and now he was demanding that the remaining amount be paid. During phone calls with Jain the complainant has got a recording of conversations which he submitted to the bureau as evidence," the spokesperson said, as per the official statement.

The spokesperson further said after a preliminary investigation of this complaint, a bureau team laid a trap in which accused Gaurav Jain was arrested red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 15,000 in the presence of two official witnesses.

"Thereafter Goel was also arrested. In this regard an FIR dated November 3, under Section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act and 120-B of IPC has been registered at VB police station Ludhiana Range," he said.

Both the accused would be produced before a court at Ludhiana on Saturday for seeking their remand, he said.

Further Investigation in this case was under progress, he added.

(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)