The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Kochi, on Monday submitted a report to District Collector M.G. Rajamanickam on the arrest of Additional District Magistrate B. Ramachandran on charges of demanding and accepting bribe.
According to officials, the Collector will recommend action on the report to the State government at the earliest. The VACB is slated to present a detailed report delineating the charges against Mr. Ramachandran to the Vigilance Director.
The VACB will oppose the bail application moved by Mr. Ramachandran at the Vigilance Court in Thiruvanthapuram, scheduled to come up for hearing on Wednesday. The agency will also make a plea for a comprehensive investigation into the suspected disproportionate assets amassed by the ADM.
Meanwhile, a collective of paddy farmers from the district has approached the VACB and the District Collector with a complaint stating that the ADM had extended undue favours to an individual to convert a 50-acre paddy field into an aquaculture facility.
The ADM was arrested last week for allegedly accepting a bribe in connection with the granting of explosives licences to a fireworks vendor. VACB officials in plainclothes arrested the ADM from his official residence at NGO Quarters, Kakkanad, immediately after the complainant had handed over Rs. 1 lakh as bribe. The action was on the basis of a complaint lodged by one Linof Joseph, who runs a fireworks shop in Tripunithura.
