Kottayam: The Kottayam Vigilance Court on Saturday rema-nded S. Sharafuddin, the Ettumanur municipal secretary who was caught red-handed by the Vigilance officials while accepting bribe from a contractor for granting the licence for establishing high mass light. The Vigilance Court remanded the accused in the bribery case to 14 days of remand to the Kottayam sub jail. The accused was arrested by a team led by Kottayam Vigilance DySP A.S. Suresh Kumar from the Ettumanur municipal office on Friday late evening. Mr Sharafudin is slated to retire from service on Saturday. The team of officials recovered currency notes worth Rs 10,000 dipped in chemicals.
According to Mr Suresh Kumar the accused demanded Rs 3 lakh from an electrical contractor for granting the licence for establishing high mass light and another license for granting electrical connection to a building. Mr Sharafudin was formerly caught by the Vigilance officials for demanding bribe in 2011 and 2012. In 2011 he was caught while demanding 5,000 rupees as bribe while he was the Santhanpara panchayath secretary and in 2012 while he was the secretary of the Okkal pamchayath in 2012 for demanding 50,000 rupees for granting license of a shop. The Vigilance had charged him for demanding and accepting bribe. The offence if proved may elicit him an imprisonment leading to seven years.
