GILGIT, July 6: A watchman of the Northern Areas Animal Husbandry Department was jailed on Friday for offering Rs20,000 bribe to finance and revenue secretary, police sources said.

They said watchman Nooruddin of the sub-office Chilas had learnt that the finance secretary abolished his post owing to the overstaffing in the department. Since then he had been trying to influence the officials for some days to get his service continued.

When on Friday Nooruddin, resident of Thore, Diamer District, received the that information that his documents reached the secretary for termination, the watchman promptly dispatched him a ‘gift’ containing Rs20,000 through Peon Ghulam Ali, the sources said.

The secretary took stern notice of the ‘gift’ and sent for police to arrest Nooruddin. Ghulam Ali has also been suspended for helping the accused.