The Nemom police on Tuesday arrested the main accused in the revenue tax fraud reported in the Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation.
S. Santhi, superintendent at the Corporation’s Nemom zonal office, was arrested after she reached the police station on receiving summons.
The number of arrests in connection with the embezzlement that was unearthed in the Nemom, Sreekaryam and Attipra zonal offices has gone up to four.
Seven suspended
The City Corporation had suspended seven persons in connection with the scam.
The State Audit Department had detected fund misappropriation to the tune of nearly ₹34 lakh.
Of this, over ₹26 lakh was found to be missing from the Corporation’s accounts in the Nemom zonal office.
Sunitha, a cashier at the office, was arrested earlier. But Santhi had gone absconding soon after the scam came to light. She had been making efforts to obtain anticipatory bail, an official said.
Major controversy
The fraud has snowballed into a major political controversy in the local body with both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) launching indefinite agitations demanding the arrest of all responsible.
The Opposition has accused the ruling Left Democratic Front of shielding the accused.
