CHENNAI: A senior health department official has landed behind bars after he was caught red-handed accepting a bribe from a cosmetics businessman to issue a government licence.
As the accused, PU Karthikeyan, the director (in-charge) of the Tamil Nadu Drug control department, kept referring to complete all ‘formalities’ (code word for bribe) to clear his application, the businessman recorded their conversations. This eventually led to the director’s arrest by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Monday.
The ordeal for Vellore-based S Saravanan began on July 10 after he approached the state drug control department for obtaining a licence to sell herbal cosmetics manufactured by a company he runs with his wife.
He followed the due process by filling forms and also paid Rs 20,000 as fee. When he went to submit the completed application, a clerk offered to take him to the drug control director and took a fee of Rs 500, which was paid through UPI.
After scanning the papers, Karthikeyan stressed that ‘formalities’ would have to be completed for the licence to be issued. Saravanan initially did not catch the drift, however the term ‘formalities’ popped up again when he returned to the director’s office a few days later and recorded the entire conversation, DVAC’s FIR notes.
It was in this meeting where Karthikeyan allegedly told Saravanan that his file had multiple ‘queries’ which he would resolve and asked if he had brought the ‘formalities’ (with finger gestures). To stress further, Karthikeyan called for the file and quoted some norms to point out ‘deficiencies’.
Saravanan responded that they did not use chemicals and requested to know what the queries were, to which he was directed to a lower-level woman official. The clerk declined to explain the deficiencies in his application and instead said it would be couriered to his residence.
Frustrated and dejected with the turn of events, Karthikeyan mulled approaching DVAC to complain about the bribery. A few days later, Karthikeyan once again brought up the ‘queries’ in the file and demanded a bribe of Rs 25,000 over a phone call, the FIR notes.
Saravanan then approached DVAC’s head office in Alandur and filed a complaint. The sleuths set up a trap and caught Karthikeyan red-handed on Monday while accepting the bribe of Rs 25,000 after which he was arrested.