CBI arrests Udhampur fireman for allegedly taking ₹15,000 bribe for hotel fire NOC

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday arrested a fireman posted under the Assistant Director, Fire and Emergency Services, Udhampur, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹15,000 to process a Fire and Emergency Services No Objection Certificate for a hotel in Katra.

According to the CBI, the case was registered on October 6, 2026, after a complaint alleged that the accused had initially demanded ₹40,000 from the complainant for processing and issuing the NOC. The amount was later negotiated down, and the accused allegedly agreed to accept ₹15,000.

The agency said it laid a trap the same day and caught the accused red-handed while he was allegedly demanding and accepting the bribe. He was arrested after the trap operation. The CBI has said further investigation is underway.

The agency’s official handle also posted that a fireman in Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir, had been arrested in a bribery case. The accused’s name has not been disclosed in the statements reported so far.

Katra, in Reasi district, is a major pilgrimage centre on the route to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, and hotels in the area are required to obtain a Fire and Emergency Services NOC before they can operate. According to the allegation, the clearance was being linked to an illegal payment.

The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a fair trial. The case remains under investigation.