Excise official held while accepting bribe

A senior official in the State excise department was caught red-handed and arrested on Monday, while allegedly accepting Rs.20,000 as bribe for doing an official favour.

Based on a complaint by a hotelier in Pollachi that Deputy Commissioner Murthy was demanding money for renewal of the bar licence attached to his hotel, Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption wing of police laid a trap this evening, police said.

As Murthy was accepting the tainted money, DVAC sleuths, led by DSP Shanmugapriya, arrested him red-handed, DVAC sources said.