Puducherry govt. official, four others booked in bribery case

The case was registered against the official for demanding a bribe of ₹2 lakh from a company in exchange for a pollution control board clearance

The Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Chennai, has registered a bribery case against a Scientific Officer in the Department of Science, Technology and Environment, N. Srinivasa Rao, a company director, and three other individuals in Puducherry.

The case was registered against Mr. Rao for demanding a bribe of ₹2 lakh in exchange for a clearance from the Puducherry Pollution Control Committee (PPCC) for Vijaya Industrial Alcohols Limited, Sugar Mill Road, at Lingareddipalayam in the Union Territory. 

The others allegedly involved in the corruption case are Ravitchandirane Arvind, the director of Vijaya Industrial Alcohols Limited, M. Ramesh Kannan, a resident of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, and S. Srinivasan and K. Sivanandam, both residents of Puducherry.  

They have been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The CBI said the Lingareddipalayam-based company had applied for a clearance from the PPCC, and Mr. Rao was entrusted with the responsibility of inspecting the factory before giving the clearance.

The officer demanded ₹2 lakh as bribe in exchange for the clearance, and the other accused persons arranged for the payment of the bribe, the investigation agency said.

Published - September 25, 2024 04:00 pm IST