Coimbatore: The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) sleuths caught a station fire officer red-handed accepting a bribe of Rs 6,000 from a person for issuing no objection certificate (NOC) to set up a cracker shop here on Saturday.
According to a DVAC source, N Madanavel, 42, a medical representative from Kuniyamuthur, had approached Coimbatore (south) fire station officer B Sasikumar, 57, seeking NOC to set up a temporary cracker shop at a private building at Madukkarai ahead of Diwali.
“He had to obtain NOC from both the police and fire departments and submit the same before the revenue department while applying for licence to run the cracker shop. The procedure demands the station fire officer to inspect the shop and issue NOC, if that meets the legal requirements,” the source said.
The fire station officer, however, demanded Rs 15,000 from Madanavel to issue him NOC. When Madanavel told the officer that he couldn’t afford that amount, Sasikumar demanded at least Rs 10,000 and finally settled down for Rs 6,000.
Meanwhile, Madanavel approached the DVAC deputy superintendent of police, T H Ganesh, who laid a trap for the fire station officer. “The DSP gave him currency notes that were smeared with phenolphthalein powder and asked him to hand over the amount to Sasikumar around 11.30am on Saturday,” the source said.
The DVAC sleuths subsequently caught Sasikumar while he was accepting the bribe from Madanavel and registered a case against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act.