The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday arrested a Sub-Divisional Agriculture Officer (SDAO) and two others in Jammu and Kashmir on charges of demanding and accepting a bribe to release a subsidy under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), officials said.
Trap operation leads to arrests
The anti-corruption agency said it laid a trap after receiving a complaint alleging that SDAO Rajan Sharma had demanded a bribe of ₹35,000 from a subsidy-seeker for processing and releasing payment under the HADP scheme. The agency said its operatives caught an Agricultural Extension Assistant (AEA), Abhilashi Sharma, and a private person, Ashok Kumar, red-handed while demanding and accepting part of the amount.
"The CBI laid a trap and caught the accused Agricultural Extension Assistant and the private person red-handed while demanding and accepting bribe of Rs. 15,000 from the complainant," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.
Following the trap, the CBI arrested the AEA and the private person on the spot and subsequently apprehended SDAO Rajan Sharma from his residence, the statement added. The agency has registered a formal case and will proceed with further legal and investigative steps, officials said.
Allegations and amounts involved
The complaint, according to the CBI statement, alleged that the SDAO had directed the applicant to hand over the bribe either to the AEA or to the private intermediary. The operatives recovered ₹15,000 from the accused at the time of the trap, which the agency says was part of the demanded ₹35,000.
| Person | Alleged role | Amount involved |
|---|---|---|
| Rajan Sharma | Sub-Divisional Agriculture Officer; alleged to have demanded the bribe | ₹35,000 (demanded) |
| Abhilashi Sharma | Agricultural Extension Assistant; alleged intermediary | ₹15,000 (caught accepting) |
| Ashok Kumar | Private person; alleged intermediary | ₹15,000 (caught accepting) |
Context and implications for farmers
The HADP scheme is intended to provide subsidies and support to farmers through agricultural interventions and inputs. Corruption in subsidy disbursal undermines the objective of such programmes and can delay benefits to legitimate beneficiaries. The arrests underline the federal agency’s focus on ensuring transparency in welfare and agricultural schemes in the Union Territory.
Officials did not provide details on how many beneficiaries may have been affected in the SDAO’s jurisdiction, or whether further raids or recoveries were planned. The CBI typically forwards seized evidence and detained persons to competent courts and continues interrogation and document verification as part of the statutory process.
Procedure going forward
Following such arrests, standard procedure includes medical examination of the accused, their production before the court within the statutory time frame, and custodial remand or bail hearings as per judicial orders. The CBI will also seek to collect documentary proof of demand and payment, bank records and official files related to the subsidy application cited in the complaint.
- Trap operation: CBI laid a trap after a complaint alleging demand of bribe.
- Arrests: An SDAO, an AEA and a private person were arrested; ₹15,000 recovered.
- Allegation: Bribe of ₹35,000 was sought for releasing HADP subsidy.
The CBI statement did not disclose the identity of the complainant, citing the sensitive nature of the probe. Local agriculture department officials were not named in the CBI release. The matter is expected to proceed through the criminal justice process, with the agency producing the arrested persons before a court and continuing its investigation.
These developments come amid ongoing scrutiny of implementation of central and UT-level welfare schemes. The CBI’s action signals continued enforcement against officials and intermediaries alleged to have misused public offices to extract unauthorised payments from beneficiaries.
Further details are likely to emerge as the agency files formal charges and furnishes evidence during court proceedings.
