Sleuths of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption on Saturday seized over ₹25.50 lakh from two personal cars of Motor Vehicle (MV) Inspectors from Virudhunagar and Madurai North.
Acting on a tip-off that MV Inspector Kalaiselvi of Virudhunagar Regional Transport Office gets money from a broker, they kept a watch on her movement. Accompanied by Inspection Cell Officer Senthivel, a team of DVAC led by Deputy Superintendent of Police, P. Karuppiah, found bags being handed over to occupants of two cars.
The teams intercepted the cars before they could cross the police check-post at Chathrareddiyapatti on Virudhunagar-Madurai district border. They were taken to the RTO office for interrogation. Source said that they recovered 117 sovereigns of gold jewellery and over ₹ 24 lakh from the car in which Kalaiselvi was travelling. They recovered ₹14.3 lakh from the car in which MV Inspector Anand of Madurai North was travelling.
The teams also picked up a broker, identified as Arul Prasad, who is an employee of a two-wheeler dealer in Virudhunagar. He was found in possession of ₹7,850. The teams had got information that Kalaiselvi used to go to her native place in Salem district with weekly collections on every Fridays or Saturdays.
“Arul Prasad had been acting as the chief collection agent who would collect the bribe from driving schools and other brokers who would seek fitness certificates, registration of vehicles and renewal of licenses for their clients,” an official said. The money would be handed over to her when she would leave for home. “As she could not go home last week due to bad weather the two-week collection was handed over to her on Saturday,” he added.
The sleuths suspect that Anand was escorting her as she was carrying huge sum of money. Kalaiselvi told the sleuths that her husband, Raja, who had come from Salem a few days back, had brought the jewels fearing for their safety in their locked home at Salem. All valuables seized were recorded and a report would be sent to the headquarters for further action.
