Forest officials held in Rs 1 lakh bribe case

Kochi: A section forest officer and a forest deputy ranger were caught by vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (VACB) for accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh to exempt individuals from a case.Ernakulam Makeppala forest station deputy range officer Sreejith C P, a native of Pathirappally, Alappuzha, and section forest officer Jimmy Scaria, a native of Piravom, Ernakulam, were caught red-handed by vigilance on Thursday. The accused had sought a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from the complainant, a native of Ranipuram in Kasaragod, working as a manager at a restaurant in Kakkanad, to exempt him and other restaurant staff from a case registered by the forest department. According to VACB, two employees of the restaurant were arrested on April 16 in a case registered at Makeppala forest station for killing a monitor lizard, and they were remanded in jail for seven days. As part of bail conditions, the court instructed the employees to report to Makeppala forest station every Wednesday. On May 6, when the accused restaurant employees went to the forest station to report, they were told that more employees would be made accused, and to avoid this, they should settle the matter by paying a bribe. The accused later called the employees on the phone and threatened them. The next day, Sreejith and Scaria, along with other officials, came to the restaurant, reviewed CCTV footage, threatened to arrest everyone, and instructed the complainant and two other employees to appear at the forest station. Following the instructions, the complainant and other employees appeared at the forest station, where their statements were recorded. The two officers then took the complainant and others outside the forest station, stating that avoiding being accused in the case would be costly, and that they would have to pay a share to officials from the DFO downwards. They were told to call after discussing with officials to know the amount. Subsequently, on Wednesday, when the complainant called Sreejith, he demanded a bribe of Rs 1 lakh. Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant informed deputy superintendent of police of Ernakulam vigilance unit, who set up a trap. On Thursday at 9.45pm, Scaria was caught red-handed by the vigilance team while accepting the bribe from the complainant near Kuruppampady MGM School. Sreejith was also arrested from near Mudickal forest timber depot. Vigilance director Manoj Abraham requested that if the public has any information related to corruption, they should report it to the toll-free number 1064, phone number 8592900900, or WhatsApp number 9447789100.