CHENNAI: A government school principal, a suspended teacher, a senior school official, a teacher-aspirant and her husband were arraigned by the DVAC’s Tiruvallur detachment in a corruption case filed on July 11.
The couple had allegedly given the other suspects a bribe of Rs 12 lakh over the promise of a government job. When they failed to deliver on the promise and also refused to return the money, the couple filed a police complaint and also a case in the Madras High Court, which then directed the DVAC to conduct a probe into the complaint.
The accused were identified as B Venkatesan (54), a government school principal, S Arul (60) a suspended government school teacher, TV Venkatesan (60), a senior official of Gengusamy Naidu Matriculation School, PS Devika (32), a teacher-aspirant, and her husband GP Nithyanandam (38).
The DVAC FIR said B Venkatesan and Arul were acquainted with TV Venkatesan, who acted as the middleman between them and the couple. Promising a government teacher job for Devika, the trio allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 6 lakh.
After pledging jewellery, borrowing from family members and using up all their savings, Devika and Nithyanandam paid this amount at Tiruttani railway station in June 2019. Devika wrote the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) later that month and was assured of a job by the trio, the DVAC report said.
However, when the results were announced in August, her name did not feature in the list. When they confronted Venkatesan, Arul and TV Venkatesan, the three men assured her that another list would be published soon and her name would be included in it.
The trio then allegedly forged a government order, which showed that Devika was selected, and gave it to her. When the couple demanded an official copy of the order, the trio allegedly demanded another Rs 6 lakh, which the couple later paid by borrowing from relatives living in Nagari in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
When the government order did not arrive by post as promised, the couple demanded that their bribe money be returned. Upon not receiving back their money, they filed a police complaint and a case in the Madras High Court, which was then transferred to the DVAC. The agency subsequently arraigned Venkatesan, Arul and TV Venkatesan for taking the bribe and Devika and Nithyanandam for paying the bribe.