Chennai, 5 December (H.S.) : V. Ganesh (54), a Junior Grade Engineer of the Kariapatti Town Panchayat in Virudhunagar district, was arrested on Thursday by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on charges of demanding and accepting a bribe.

Ganesh was caught red-handed at his office while receiving the bribe money. The arrest stemmed from a complaint filed by contractor N. Palanikumar, who had completed the construction of a modern gas crematorium at Kariapatti in 2022 at an estimated cost of Rs 1.38 crore.

Following the completion of the project, a final payment of Rs 19,36,124 was still pending for the contractor. When Palanikumar approached the engineer for the release of the money, Ganesh allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 3.50 lakh. After the contractor expressed his inability to pay the full amount, the engineer reduced his demand to an initial payment of Rs 50,000, with the remaining amount to be paid later.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, Palanikumar lodged a complaint with the DVAC, which registered an FIR. The subsequent trap operation led to the engineer's arrest while he was accepting the tainted money, which was confirmed through a chemical test. The bribe amount has since been seized.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Dr. R. B. Chaudhary