Idukki DMO arrested on bribery charge

He was earlier suspended on corruption charges and various other allegations

Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) officials on Wednesday arrested Idukki District Medical Officer (DMO) Manoj L. for allegedly receiving a bribe of ₹75,000 from a hotel owner.

The DMO was arrested on the same day he rejoined the office after being placed on suspension on corruption charges and various other allegations.

According to VACB officials, the DMO inspected a hotel at Chithirapuram, near Munnar, last month and allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹1,00,000 to issue ‘Suchitwa’ certificate for the hotel. He asked the hotel owner to send the money to the Google Pay account of Rahul Raj, driver of the DMO’s friend. He later reduced the bribe amount to ₹75,000 following a request from the owner. After transferring the money, the owner handed over a screenshot of the payment to the DMO.

The officials had collected the screenshot and other details before making the arrest. Rahul Raj was taken into custody from Kottayam, according to officials. The accused will be produced before the Vigilance court in Muvattupuzha on Thursday. Idukki Vigilance DYSP Shaju Jose led the team.

The Health department had on October 7 issued an order suspending Dr. Manoj, who then approached the Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT) against the suspension. The KAT had stayed the implementation of the suspension order on October 8.

Published - October 09, 2024 08:41 pm IST