MADURAI: Six bill collectors and a computer operator from the Madurai Corporation were suspended on Tuesday in connection with the property tax fraud case.
Madurai corporation commissioner Chitra Vijayan suspended bill collectors M Kannan, K Ramalingam, P Ravichandran, P Aadimoolam, Ranjith Selvakumar, and Fliex Rajamanickam, as well as computer operator Karunakaran, after an audit team found that the property taxes of 150 buildings had been deliberately reduced without following proper procedures. The fraud came to light when the then corporation commissioner Dinesh Kumar lodged a complaint with the city police on September 6, 2024, seeking investigation.
An audit team, constituted by Kumar, had found that property taxes of 150 buildings were deliberately reduced, leading to a loss of lakhs.
Further, a probe by the Central Crime Branch (CCB)-II found the fraud took place between April 1, 2022, and July 31, 2024. They arrested eight people in this regard.
Subsequently, five zonal chairpersons and two chairpersons of standing committees tendered their resignations. “It is amid this juncture that the corporation commissioner suspended the bill collectors and a computer operator,” a corporation source said.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the zonal chairpersons’ resignations, the weekly zonal meeting, which is scheduled for every Tuesday, did not take place this week.
When contacted, an official from the corporation said that assistant commissioners have been assigned to take over the administrative work to avoid delays, and added that the zonal meeting could not be be conducted due to administrative reasons.