T’puram: A former executive engineer of harbour engineering department has been sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) and fined Rs 40,000 by vigilance court in Thiruvananthapuram for accepting a bribe from a contractor in connection with the release of a road work bill. The convicted officer, Dinesh Sankar, a native of Vanchiyoor, was serving as executive engineer of Vizhinjam harbour engineering sub-division at the time of the incident. According to vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (VACB), the case relates to a road concreting project undertaken in Anchuthengu grama panchayat during 2018-19. The contractor had completed the work worth Rs 8.10 lakh under harbour engineering department. Although an inspection later found the quality of the work satisfactory, the release of the remaining bill amount of Rs 2.5 lakh was delayed. When the contractor approached the executive engineer for clearance of the pending bill amount, the officer allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 20,000. Following a complaint from the contractor, Thiruvananthapuram vigilance unit laid a trap and caught the accused red-handed while accepting the bribe. The judgment was delivered by enquiry commissioner and special judge (vigilance), Thiruvananthapuram, Manoj A. Public prosecutor Veena Satheesan appeared for vigilance in the case. The investigation was conducted by former DSP of Thiruvananthapuram vigilance unit, Abdul Wahab and Ashok Kumar. The VACB has urged public to report corruption-related information through its toll-free number 1064 or via WhatsApp at 9447789100.
