T’puram: VACB officials on Tuesday arrested an employee of the directorate of mining and geology while accepting a bribe at their district office. The accused Christian Jose of Kattakada, worked as a lab attendant in the directorate. He was caught while accepting Rs 5,000 from a complainant as part of a bribe allegedly demanded to expedite the issuance of a transit pass for removing soil from a property. According to officials, the complainant, a native of Attingal and owner of a truck used for transporting soil, had approached the office after facing a delay in obtaining a transit pass. The application for pass had been submitted by a property owner from Chirayinkeezhu who planned to remove soil from his land for construction work. During visit to the office, Jose allegedly approached complainant and offered to expedite processing of pass in return for a bribe of Rs 50,000. He reportedly told him that Rs 40,000 of the amount was for other officials and Rs 10,000 was for himself.Vigilance officials said that on Feb 23, Jose contacted the complainant over phone and asked him to collect the bribe amount from the property owner and transfer it to him. When the complainant met him again at office on Monday and informed him that he did not have the full amount, Jose allegedly demanded Rs 5,000 as an advance token. TNN
