KOTTAYAM: The officials of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Saturday nabbed an employee at the Mahatma Gandhi University for taking bribe from a student to obtain a provisional certificate of a post-graduation course.
The arrested is C J Elsy, 48, who hails from Pathanamthitta. Following the arrest, the MG University registrar suspended the employee from service pending an inquiry. According to Vigilance officials, Elsy, who works as a university assistant in the MBA section of the university, demanded a bribe of Rs 50,000 to give provisional certificate of the MBA course from a student of Mangalam Engineering College in Ettumanoor. She was arrested while accepting a second instalment of Rs 15,000 from the student.
The results of the MBA course were released earlier this month and the student applied for the mark list and provisional certificate with regard to her job. According to the vigilance team, Elsy contacted the student and promised to give her the certificate soon. She also demanded Rs 50,000 for the help. After negotiations, Elsy agreed to cut down the amount to Rs 30,000 and insisted the student to pay Rs 15,000 on Saturday itself.
Following this, the student lodged a complaint with VACB superintendent V G Vinod Kumar on Friday. Based on this, the Vigilance team handed over a note coated with phenolphthalein powder to the student on Saturday. The Vigilance team caught the accused while she was taking the money from the student on the university campus.
The arrest was led by Vigilance Range DySP Viswanathan and team. After a medical examination, the accused was produced in the Vigilance Court in Thiruvananthapuram. According to VACB officials, Elsy had collected Rs 1.25 lakh from the student on various occasions promising that she would ensure the student passed all examinations. With vigilance receiving indications that Elsy collected money from more people, they decided to conduct a detailed inquiry into the matter. The MGU Employees’ Association also demanded strict action against the accused.