A junior assistant at the office of the Assistant Education Officer (AEO) in Jolarpet was caught red-handed for demanding and accepting a bribe of `1,750 to forward a graduate’s application for approval from the District Education Office to undergo teachers training at a government school.
P Sivaji (42) of Mallapali village in Tirupattur Taluk had completed BEd and had to undergo teachers training in a government school as per the syllabus. So he submitted an application to the AEO’s office a few days ago seeking permission for the same.
The junior assistant at the AEO, D Sarathy (41), demanded a bribe of `2,000 to forward Sivaji’s application to the DEO to get the permission. Subsequently, Sarathy reduced the bribe amount to `1,750 and asked Sivaji to hand over the money on Wednesday.
Sivaji approached M Balasubramanian, DSP of the Vellore Unit of Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) Wing and lodged a complaint against Sarathy. Acting on it, Balasubramanian gave chemical coated currency notes to Sivaji and asked him to hand it over to Sarathy. Police caught Sarathy accepting the currency notes at the office in Jolarpet.
Following this, police registered a case against Sarathy under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act and produced him before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Vellore. He was later remanded to the Vellore Central Prison.