Cuddalore district’s commercial tax officer, Rajeshwari (44), was arrested in Chidambaram on Friday for accepting a bribe of Rs 1.50 lakh.
Vigilance department sources said, “Rajeshwari, the officer-in-charge of the enforcement wing of Cuddalore District Commercial Tax Department, is responsible for the commercial tax officers in Chidambaram area. A fly ash bricks manufacturer, Sathishkumar, submitted his accounts for the year 2012-13 in the commercial tax office and offered a bribe to reduce taxes. Rajeshwari demanded Rs 8 lakh as a bribe, but after a round of bargaining, the officer agreed to accept Rs 1.50 lakh.”
Soon after this, Sathishkumar approached Cuddalore district’s Vigilance and Anti-Corruption police and lodged a complaint. Police gave chemical coated currency notes worth Rs 1.50 lakh to Sathishkumar and laid a trap. On Friday, Rajeshwari was in Chidambaram town for inspection and she asked Sathishkumar to hand over the money to her at Therkkuratha Veethi in Chidambaram. As soon as she accepted the money, inspectors Sathish, Shanmugam and Thiruvengadam arrested Rajeshwari and seized the money from her. Police registered a case. ENS