Thiruvananthapuram, 17 Jan (H.S.):A statewide lightning inspection by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has uncovered large-scale corruption and systemic irregularities across offices of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), officials said on Friday. The surprise operation—code-named “Operation Short Circuit”—was launched following credible inputs that officials were accepting commissions from contractors and clearing bills without conducting mandatory inspections.

The Vigilance said simultaneous raids were carried out from 10.30 am across 70 electrical section offices in the state. Preliminary findings indicate that 41 officials in various section offices collectively received ₹16.5 lakh in bribes from multiple contractors, routed entirely through bank transfers. The inspections scrutinised contract works executed over the past five years.

Investigators found a pattern of manipulation designed to bypass e-tendering norms, with large projects deliberately split into smaller components to invite quotations instead of open tenders. Contracts were allegedly awarded to unlicensed individuals and benamis linked to officials. In several cases, works were executed without using the quantities specified in estimates, while essential tasks such as muffing were skipped to inflate margins.

Record-keeping lapses were also widespread. Scrap registers, logbooks and work registers were either improperly maintained or missing in many offices, the Vigilance said.

Specific instances highlighted by investigators include transactions in Varkala, where a sub-engineer allegedly received ₹55,200 and another official ₹38,000 via Google Pay from a contractor. In Kottayam, a sub-engineer reportedly accepted ₹1.83 lakh, while an overseer received ₹18,550. At the Kattappana section office, an assistant engineer is alleged to have taken ₹2.35 lakh. Additionally, four officials at the same office are suspected to have transferred ₹1.86 lakh to contractors, raising questions about benami arrangements and officials themselves executing works through proxies.

The Vigilance is probing whether officials used front contractors to secure and execute works, effectively controlling projects from within the department. Officials said the scale of the transactions points to organised corruption across multiple offices.

Vigilance Director Manoj Abraham said bank accounts of the officials involved, their family members and suspected intermediaries would be examined in detail. He urged the public to share information related to corruption through the toll-free helpline 1064 or WhatsApp number 94477 89100, assuring confidentiality and swift action.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman