Coimbatore treasury officer accepts bribe, held by DVAC

An officer of the district treasury office in Coimbatore was arrested by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Tuesday, after he demanded and accepted bribe from a retired teacher for processing gratuity bill. The accused has been identified as A. Raja, who had been working as a superintendent in the education section at the district treasury office.

DVAC officials said that P. Cyril Arokkiam Alexander, 60, a resident of Venkatramana Nagar on Nanjundapuram Road in Coimbatore retired as a physical education teacher from a school in the city on May 31 this year. Mr. Alexander approached Raja for processing his bill to get the gratuity amount, for which the latter demanded a bribe of ₹2,000.

Based on the complaint given by the retired teacher, the DVAC handed over currencies laced with phenolphthalein (a compound that is invisible, but will show up red if dipped in water).

When the complainant visited the treasury office, Raja opened his table drawer and asked him to place the demanded bribe of ₹2,000. The complainant placed the amount in the drawer and gave a signal to the DVAC trap team, which secured Raja immediately.

The Vigilance sleuths recovered the marked currencies from the officer’s table drawer. A phenolphthalein test was done on his hands and the table drawer. The test done on the table drawer turned positive. DVAC Additional Deputy Superintendent of Police M.P. Dhivya said Raja was arrested.

Published - September 24, 2024 10:20 pm IST