TENKASI: A constable attached to the Uthumalai police station alleged inaction on his complaint that a police inspector received Rs 20 lakh in bribe, and petitioned the home secretary.
Constable P Sylas is the second police personnel from Tenkasi to seek voluntary retirement, alleging corruption by superior officials.
In his petition dated January 2, Sylas claimed he had provided the inspector’s bank statements and other evidence to substantiate his allegations. “I have been serving in the department since 2003. While working in Sivagiri, I witnessed multiple malpractices by the station inspector, who opened a separate bank account to collect bribe money.
I gathered a year’s transaction details, information on personnel who collected bribes on her behalf and photographs as evidence. On September 17, I lodged complaints with the DGP and the DVAC, but no action was taken. Instead, I was transferred and my increment was cut,” Sylas alleged.
The constable further said the police department’s failure to act against the inspector and the punishment meted out to him caused severe mental agony. Sylas demanded action against the inspector and requested voluntary retirement.
This development comes 10 days after another constable, A Prabhakaran of Sivagiri police station, petitioned the DGP alleging malpractices by higher officials. Prabhakaran had claimed that vehicles used for smuggling minerals and ganja were released in collusion with higher officials. He sought to be relieved from service, saying he could not continue under the current circumstances. The district police denied Prabhakaran’s allegations following a preliminary inquiry and launched a detailed investigation.
When contacted, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Tirunelveli Range) Pa Moorthy said he would look into Sylas’s complaint. He also reiterated the Tenkasi police’s denial of Prabhakaran’s allegations.
‘I was transferred’
In the complaint, constable P Sylas said, “On September 17, I lodged complaints with the DGP and the DVAC, but no action was taken. Instead, I was transferred and my increment was cut.”