Kozhikode (Kerala), Feb 28 A court here sentenced a former intelligence officer of the commercial taxes department to four years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh in a bribery case.
Kozhikode Vigilance Court Judge Shibu Thomas on Friday sentenced K Mohanan of Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram, who was serving as an intelligence officer at the commercial taxes office in Malappuram in 2017, after finding him guilty of accepting a bribe.
Though he was awarded sentences under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the total effective sentence is four years of rigorous imprisonment, with the court ordering that the sentences run concurrently.
According to the prosecution, in 2017, the complainant had constructed a new building at Melmuri in Malappuram and submitted accounts and bills related to the construction to the commercial taxes office.
Mohanan had issued a notice directing the complainant to appear at the office for verification of documents.
When the complainant appeared, he was allegedly asked to pay a penalty of Rs 3 lakh.
Upon expressing difficulty in remitting the amount, Mohanan allegedly demanded a bribe to reduce the penalty.
Following this, the complainant approached the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB).
A trap was set, and Mohanan was caught while accepting a bribe at the Commercial Taxes Office in Malappuram.
Public Prosecutor Arun Nath K appeared for the VACB.
