Chandigarh, September 25, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested a private passport agent for allegedly accepting a ₹20,000 bribe in Jalandhar for facilitating early issuance of a passport through alleged contacts with officials of the Passport Office.
The accused, identified as Hardeep Kaur, a private passport agent based in Jalandhar, was arrested red-handed during a trap laid by the VB on the complaint of a resident of Kandola Kurd village in Phillaur tehsil of Jalandhar district, according to a VB spokesperson.
The spokesperson said the complainant had applied for a passport and her police verification had been cleared. However, when she visited the Passport Office, Jalandhar, with her original documents, a dealing official allegedly told her that the police verification for the passport had not been cleared.
After leaving the passport office, the complainant was allegedly approached by two private passport agents, NP Singh and Hardeep Kaur, near a booth outside the office. According to the complaint, they demanded ₹35,000 for facilitating early issuance of the passport without police verification through their alleged contacts with passport officials.
The complainant recorded the conversation regarding the alleged bribe demand and subsequently approached the VB Range, Jalandhar.
Acting on the complaint, the Vigilance Bureau laid a trap and arrested Hardeep Kaur while she was allegedly accepting ₹20,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.
The VB said the other accused, identified as Narinder Pal Singh alias N.P., has not yet been arrested. The alleged role of officials of the Passport Office will also be examined as part of the further investigation.
A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused at the VB police station in Jalandhar. Further investigation is underway.
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