Two Kerala Government Officials Arrested In Separate Bribery Cases

Officials said the complainant’s sister had submitted an application in July 2025 seeking transfer of ownership of a property standing in the name of her deceased husband.

The complainant informed the VACB Kottayam unit, which laid a trap and caught Vishnu accepting the bribe on Thursday afternoon, officials said.

Source : ABPLIVE AI

Kochi, Jan 22 (PTI) The VACB on Thursday arrested two government officials in separate bribery cases in Ernakulam and Kottayam districts, officials said.

According to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), in the first case, Vishnu O N S, a village officer at Elamgulam in Kottayam district, was caught while accepting a bribe of Rs 2,000 for completing the transfer of inherited property.

Officials said the complainant’s sister had submitted an application in July 2025 seeking transfer of ownership of a property standing in the name of her deceased husband.

Though the required documents were submitted and all procedures were completed, Vishnu allegedly withheld the file and demanded a bribe of Rs 2,000.

The complainant informed the VACB Kottayam unit, which laid a trap and caught Vishnu accepting the bribe on Thursday afternoon, officials said.

In a similar case, the VACB arrested Suraj Narayanan, a senior clerk at the Assistant Labour Office in Angamaly and a native of Puthencruz in Ernakulam district, for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1,500 for renewing the labour licence of a private firm operating in Angamaly.

VACB officials said the owner of the firm had applied online last month for renewal of the labour licence, but it was not processed.

On Thursday, clerk Suraj allegedly called the complainant and demanded Rs 1,500 to process the renewal application, an official said.

The complainant then informed the VACB Kochi unit, which laid a trap and caught Suraj accepting the bribe at the Assistant Labour Office at the Angamaly Civil Station.

Both accused will be produced before the respective Vigilance courts later, VACB officials said. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)