KOLLAM: 18 officials of of Aryankavu forest range office were suspended after financial irregularities were proved against them. It was found that they had committed fraud by embezzling money by stating non-existent salaries. Departmental action was taken against 11 beat forest officers, three deputy range officers, two range forest officers and one section forest officer.

The corruption in the Aryankavu forest office comes to light amid complaints that systematic inspections are not being carried out in the state forest department. Officials siphoned off money from the government exchequer by adding fake names to the list of daily wage earners. During the inspection conducted by the forest department vigilance and flying squad, it was found that Rs 1,60,000 was shared among the officials. In the wake of the fraud, the forest department has decided to conduct inspections at range offices across the state.