Thiruvananthapuram, May 16 A Vigilance Court here on Saturday sentenced a Village Extension Officer (VEO) to five years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 6.35 lakh in three separate corruption cases involving diversion of government welfare funds.
Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance Court Judge Manoj A found Dinu S G (41), a resident of Nettayam in the city, guilty of causing substantial financial loss to the government by siphoning off funds meant for beneficiaries of various welfare schemes while serving at different Grama Panchayats in the district.
The court gave a common judgment in three cases and ordered that the sentences in all of them would run concurrently.
According to the prosecution, while serving as a VEO at various panchayats in Thiruvananthapuram district, he siphoned off funds.
He allegedly manipulated account books, committed financial irregularities and forged documents to conceal the diversion and mislead auditors.
Three cases were registered and investigated by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) Special Investigation Unit-1 (SIU-1), Thiruvananthapuram.
The investigation was led by former Deputy Superintendent of Police B Udayakumar, along with Inspectors B Anilkumar, S Anilkumar, H Anilkumar and V S Riju.
The chargesheet was filed by Superintendent of Police K E Baiju.
Public Prosecutor Veena Satheesan appeared for the Vigilance.
Dinu was already under suspension after cases were registered against him in 2023.
