190 sovereigns, Rs 19L seized from Inspector

According to sources, Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) sleuths On May 22 caught Uthangarai station inspector P Natarajan red-handed for receiving bribe from bakery owner P Saravanan after threatening to book him under false cases. Although the inspector reportedly demanded two lakh rupees, he later agreed to take Rs 70,000 as advance amount. However, not willing to pay bribe, Saravanan lodged a complaint with DVAC.

Acting on his complaint, the sleuths set a trap by asking Saravanan to hand over chemical-laced currency to the inspector at the Uthangarai police station. They then nabbed the cop red-handed and seized the money.

A case was registered under section 7(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Salem Range DIG, Senthil Kumar, placed Natarajan under suspension.

In a follow-up operation, sleuths led by DSP Krishnaraj and Inspector Murugan searched the tainted cop’s lockers and seized about 150 sovereigns of gold jewels and Rs 14.30 lakh from the nationalised bank. Another 40 sovereigns of jewellery and cash to the tune of Rs five lakh were seized from another bank. Further investigations are on.