The city police on Wednesday arrested an insurance surveyor for allegedly seeking bribe from a flood victim to settle an insurance claim.
The arrested was identified as Gaddam Maheswar Rao, 52, of Rajamundri, Andhra Pradesh. Mr. Rao, a surveyor with an insurance firm, allegedly demanded bribe from Shihab, a native of Mala, for endorsing his claim. Shihab, who runs a tyre shop near Kodungallur incurred losses worth ₹38 lakh during the floods two weeks ago. He had insured the shop for ₹60 lakh with a private insurance firm.
Based on a claim lodged by Shihab, the accused approached him and offered to pass ₹25 lakh in return for 40% of the sum. As Shihab sought more time, the accused wanted an advance payment of ₹2 lakh and settling the remaining amount in a period of 10 days.
Following this, Shihab approached the police and lodged a complaint along with visuals of the accused. Based on this, Gaddam was arrested from a lodge in the city. The accused was produced before a magistrate.
