T’puram: A vigilance court in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday sentenced a former junior health inspector of corporation to three years of RI and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 after finding her guilty in a bribery case related to issuance of a trade licence.The convict, Saritha M L (45) of Poojappura, was serving as a public health inspector with Neyyattinkara municipality at the time of the judgment. She had been working as a junior health inspector with the corporation when the offence was committed in 2019.According to VACB, the complainant had submitted an online application in 2019 seeking a licence to start an interior decoration shop in his father’s name within the corporation limits.
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Saritha, who was entrusted with conducting the mandatory field inspection and submitting a report for processing the application, allegedly demanded Rs 5,000 as a bribe for submitting a favourable inspection report and facilitating the licence.Following the complaint, officials of VACB’s Thiruvananthapuram South Unit laid a trap. Saritha was allegedly caught red-handed while accepting the bribe amount from the complainant.After examining the evidence, the vigilance court found her guilty under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.The case was investigated by former VACB deputy superintendents of police V Anil and Vinod C S. The chargesheet was filed by former superintendent of police N Jayashankar. Public prosecutor Veena Satheesan appeared for the vigilance before the court.
