The corrupt won't go scot-free, they will be caught one day: CM Pinarayi Vijayan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/PALAKKAD: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan here on Thursday warned of strict action against government servants indulging in corruption. He said those who are getting involved in such practices would be caught one day or the other.
"There are people having 'doctorates' in corrupt practices. Not everyone. But some have certainly tasted corruption. They won't remain scot-free forever," he said while inaugurating the municipal corporation staff union's state conference.
He was indirectly referring to the bribery case in which a field assistant at the Palakkayam village office in Palakkad was arrested while accepting Rs 2,500 as a bribe.
"Nothing can be kept a secret forever these days...But will it be possible to take bribes without the knowledge of those around you?" he asked.
Meanwhile, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) filed an application on Thursday before the vigilance court in Thrissur for the custody of V Suresh Kumar, the staff at Palakkayam village office arrested on charges of accepting a bribe.
Following his arrest, vigilance sleuths had recovered Rs 35 lakh in cash from Kumar's rented accommodation. Apart from this, he also had Rs 70 lakh in his bank accounts.
The vigilance team has not yet recovered any evidence indicating the involvement of Kumar's colleagues in the corruption scandal.
In his statement before the vigilance, the Palakkayam village officer said he was not aware of Kumar's corrupt practices.
Still, it has been learned that the other officials in the Palakkayam village office are also under the vigilance lens. The sleuths are of the opinion that without the knowledge of other officials, Kumar could not have amassed Rs.1.06 crore of unaccounted money.
Several complaints were raised against Kumar, and he was under the observation of the vigilance sleuths for the past month.
Upon examining his phone records, the vigilance sleuths have come to the conclusion that Kumar did not wire money to anyone, not even to his closest relatives. The 51-year-old bachelor kept to himself and had no close friends.
Kumar used to directly deal with the people who approached him for official work. He accepted their applications but sat on them, and fed up with the delay, the applicants finally agreed to pay him bribes which he collected from them outside but not in his office or in his room. This was done to avoid getting caught, the vigilance officials said.
Kumar has told the vigilance department officials that he collected bribes to construct a house in his native place, Thiruvananthapuram.