DRDA Assitant Engineer arrested on bribery charges

Assistant Engineer arrested for demanding bribe of ₹30,000 to clear payment bills for completed civic works in Vellore.

A 34-year-old Assistant Engineer (AE) of DRDA was arrested at the Block Development Office (BDO) in Gudiyatham near Katpadi in Vellore by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Tuesday for demanding a bribe of ₹30,000 to clear pending payment bills for completed road and other civic works done by private contractor in the area. DVAC sources said that the arrested person was identified as K. Nirmal Kumar, AE (DRDA), who has been working in Gudiyatham BDO for the past few years.    Initial inquiry revealed that the complainant S. Lingeshwaran, 45, a private contractor from Karuneekasamudram village near Gudiyatham, has undertaken several civic works including concrete roads, underground sewage pipeline, footpath and construction of additional school buildings in villages under Gudiyatham panchayat union to a tune of around ₹53 lakhs for the past few months.   As most of the work was completed, Lingeshwaran decided to reimburse the sanctioned amount for completed work. Accordingly, he applied for payment of pending bills of completed works at BDO office recently.   As there was no progress, Lingeshwaran visited BDO office in Gudiyatham town to find out the status of his application a week ago. He met the suspect and assistant engineer, Nirmal Kumar, and told him that he has been waiting for BDO office to clear his pending payment bills as he required the money to complete remaining unfinished works as part of civic works that was taken up in these villages.   However, Nirmal Kumar demanded a sum of ₹30,000 to clear pending payment bills for completed works. He insisted Lingeshwaran pay the entire money to get his job done.  Unwilling to pay the bribe, Lingeshwaran lodged a complaint with the DVAC. A seven-member team led by S. Mythili, Inspector, DVAC (Vellore), laid a trap and caught Nirmal Kumar red-handed. A case has been registered. Later, he was arrested and lodged at Central Prison in Vellore. A probe is underway.