RTO officer caught red-handed while accepting bribe

ALAPPUZHA: An RTO officer has been caught red-handed while accepting a bribe. Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector S Sathish of Haripad Intelligence Squad was arrested while accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000. He was seen taking a bribe in his official vehicle while wearing his uniform. Sathish had demanded a bribe from the subcontractor of National Highway construction to avoid stopping vehicles during vehicle checks and imposing fines for one month.

The RTO had seized two vehicles of the contractor the other day. A fine of Rs 20,000 was also imposed. The officer demanded the bribe to exempt overloaded lorries from the subsequent vehicle inspections.

Meanwhile, a central government employee was caught red-handed while taking a bribe in Wayanad on Monday. Central Tax and Central Excise SP Praveendar Singh was caught by the Vigilance while taking a bribe of Rs 1 lakh. The Vigilance had recently intensified its action against bribe-taking officials.