Kollam (Keralam), Nov 1 A Vigilance court has sentenced a former deputy tahsildar of Kunnathur taluk to eight years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh in a bribery case.
Kollam Vigilance Court Judge Mohith C S found S Baburaj (62), a native of Karunagappally, guilty of accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 from a complainant in exchange for taking steps to release an excavator seized by the Revenue Department over alleged illegal laterite stone quarrying in 2014.
According to the prosecution, the Revenue Department had seized the complainant's excavator, which was being used for laterite stone quarrying in Karunagappally village, alleging that the activity was illegal.
The complainant subsequently approached Baburaj, who was then the deputy tahsildar of Kunnathur taluk, seeking his intervention to secure the release of the excavator.
Baburaj demanded and accepted Rs 5,000 from the complainant for taking steps to release the vehicle.
The Kollam Vigilance Unit caught him red-handed while accepting the bribe, the prosecution said.
Public Prosecutors Divya P S and Siju Rajan appeared for the Vigilance Department.
Former Deputy Superintendents of Police Rex Bobby Arvin, R Jayashankar and Ashok Kumar K conducted the investigation, officials said.
