Chhatbir Zoo chief Sharma, 3 others held for ‘corruption’

In a crackdown on corruption in Chhatbir Zoo here, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) today arrested Chief Warden Zoos, Dr Vinod Sharma, and three other zoo officials for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 50 lakh per annum to the government exchequer.

The VB teams also raided the houses of Dr Sharma at the zoo and in Chandigarh. The others arrested today by teams from VB’s Chandigarh head office and at the Patiala Range include Dy Director Gurpal Singh, Wildlife Inspector Sukhdev Singh and former ticket clerk Rajendra Kumar.

DIG, VB, B.K. Uppal confirmed to The Indian Express that ‘‘four zoo officials, including Dr Sharma, have been arrested. A criminal case has been registered against them and 4 or 5 other persons at Patiala. The houses of Dr Sharma are being searched.’’ Uppal refused to comment further.