Prabhakaran, 48, of Thanjavur, serving as an assistant at Pattukottai Educational District Office, was arrested by police on charges of selling textbooks meant for free distribution to students to a waste paper merchant.
According to official sources, the shortage of books came to light on March 8 when the staff took inventory before making arrangements for distribution of the books to schools in their domain. Subsequently, they informed the DEO about the ‘disappearance’ of the books
After conducting a departmental inquiry, the DEO lodged a complaint with Pattukottai police stating that 500 bundles of free textbooks were missing from Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Pattukottai.
On receiving the complaint, police conducted preliminary inquiry and collected video footage of CCTV cameras installed by business establishments and others in the area.
Screening of the video footages showed a mini-goods carrier moving out of the school campus late at night. On tracing the vehicle with its registration number, they caught hold of the driver, Saravanaperumal, who informed the police that Prabhakaran had sold the books to a waste paper merchant.
Subsequently, Prabhakaran was arrested, and the books were seized from the wastepaper outlet, police said.
