NILGIRIS: Two employees of the Nilgiris forest division have been booked by the DVAC for allegedly taking bribe from contractors.
The accused are South Forest Range officer D Krishnakumar and forester Gopalakrishnan.
The DVAC personnel seized Rs 5,20,800 unaccounted cash from Krishnakumar.
They were caught following a six-hour-long raid held on Wednesday at the Udahagamandalam South Forest Range office by DVAC Nilgiris inspector Shanmugapriya, along with the special Tasildar Sivakumar following a complaint.
Krishnakumar has been booked under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Similarly, Rs 17,600 was seized from forester Gobalakrishnan.
The investigation revealed the range officer, with the help of the forester, received unaccounted cash from contractors who have been given contracts for chopping trees. Both of them had also received bribes from building owners who had decided to construct resorts and lodges in the forest boundaries.
The surprise raid started at 3.30 pm on Wednesday and continued till 9.30pm.
"It was not a trap. We have seized the unaccounted cash from the range officer and forester based on statements from contractors. We will investigate further whether the range officer and forester have any other involvement. This is the first time we have registered a case against the range officer who was transferred to Udhagamandalam South forest range from Kodaikanal two years ago," a DVAC official said.
Both have not been arrested till Thursday evening.