J&K ACB Arrests Executive Engineer Manzoor Ahmad Dar in Awantipora Bribery Trap

SRINAGAR, March 28, 2026 — The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has successfully trapped and arrested Manzoor Ahmad Dar, the Executive Engineer of the Jal Shakti (PHE) Mechanical Division South Awantipora, for demanding and accepting a bribe.

The arrest followed a written complaint alleging that Dar, son of Ghulam Mohammad Dar and resident of Daf Pora, Budgam, had demanded ₹20,000 to clear pending bills related to Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) works.

The complainant revealed that while ₹8,000 had already been paid, the official was pressuring him for the remaining ₹12,000 before releasing the payments.

Refusing to comply with the illegal demand, the complainant approached the ACB to seek legal action. Following a discreet verification process that confirmed the bribery demand, the ACB Anantnag Police Station registered Case FIR No. 02/2026 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018).

A specialized trap team was subsequently constituted to catch the official in the act.During the coordinated operation, the trap team caught Manzoor Ahmad Dar red-handed while he was accepting the bribe amount of ₹12,000. The currency was recovered from his possession on the spot in the presence of independent witnesses.

Following the arrest, the ACB conducted extensive searches of the accused official’s residential properties, overseen by Executive Magistrates and independent observers. While the investigation remains ongoing, the ACB has reiterated its commitment to rooting out corruption within government departments.