Search On for EPDCL Junior Engineer Who Took Bribe
Tainted engineer knocks down ACB official, throws away bribe money in fields
Visakhapatnam: The ACB has formed special teams to hunt down a junior engineer of the AP Eastern Power Distribution Company (EPDCL), P. Santha Rao, who escaped their trap by knocking down an inspector’s vehicle.
Before escaping the ACB dragnet, the junior engineer also threw away the currency notes of Rs 40,000 he had taken as bribe, officials said.
The bribe was taken by the junior engineer from a farmer, D Eswar Rao, a native of Mulakkayavalasa village under Makkuva mandal in Vizianagaram district. The farmer had applied for a power connection for his agricultural pump set. To obtain the connection, he had paid Rs 4,000 to EPDCL through phone-pay.
Junior engineer Santha Rao demanded a bribe of Rs 60,000 from Eswar Rao for providing the connection and accepted a part payment of Rs 20,000 as advance.
Fed up with the harassment from the junior engineer, the farmer approached the ACB. After a verification of the complainant's claim, they laid a trap in Mulakkayavalasa village on Sunday night.
The junior engineer accepted the remaining bribe of Rs 40,000 from the farmer after he reached the outskirts of the village in his car. He took the money while sitting in the car. Seeing the ACB officials approaching him, the junior engineer threw the bribe amount in the farm-field and fled from the spot in his car.
“We gave him a chase on our bikes but the junior engineer drove off at a high speed. One of the ACB officials (Inspector T Srinivasa Rao) suffered injuries after his bike was hit by the junior engineer,” the ACB officials said.
The junior engineer escaped from the village around midnight and abandoned his car on the outskirts of the village.
DSP of ACB Vizianagaram, Ramachandra Rao, said they have registered a case of corruption and another case under section 332 for obstructing a government employee from discharging his legitimate duties, with use of criminal force.
He said the junior engineer Santha Rao accepted bribes from people for grant of official favours only on Sundays.
