Retired Labour Department staff in Namakkal sentenced to 42 months in jail for graft
Ambedkar (64), a resident of Tiruchengode in Namakkal district and a retired assistant inspector in the Labour Department, was awarded 42 months of imprisonment and fined ₹1,000 in a bribery case. He was nabbed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) officials on August 2, 2011 while receiving ₹4,000 bribe from an electrical shop owner, Udhayakumar (48), a resident of Tiruchengode. He had demanded the money to avoid taking action against Udhayakumar. The case trial was held at the Namakkal District Chief Judicial Magistrate Court. On Friday, the court found the accused, Ambedkar, guilty and awarded the punishment.
29 injured in Jallikattu event in Namakkal
As many as 29 bull tamers sustained injuries at the annual jallikattu event held at Pachudaiyampalayam near Senthamangalam on Friday. More than 400 bulls from Salem, Namakkal, Tiruchi and Madurai districts participated in the event. Over 150 bull tamers tried to tame the bulls and received prizes. The injured were treated by the medical team at the venue.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
NPCC slams rural dept for ‘illegal' use of MGNREGA funds
Dimapur: The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) on Sunday expressed outrage and concern over the alarming reports of alleged unauthorised and illegal deductions from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) funds, which have been allocated to beneficiaries across the state, by the state rural development department. Condemning the department for its 'deplorable abuse of power', the NPCC urged the minister of the department and the state govt to take immediate and decisive action against the rampant corruption and ensure that those involved are identified and penalised. In a release, the NPCC cited recent public revelations, particularly the damning exposé by the Kacharigaon Phevima village council."This insidious practice of extortion, reportedly demanded as mandatory 'commissions' or 'cuts', has become an entrenched part of the department throughout Nagaland. It is but a natural extension of the deep-rooted culture of corruption perpetuated by the govt in the state," the NPCC said. "We demand accountability and justice for the rural people of Nagaland, who are being robbed of their rightful entitlements due to this criminal exploitation," it said. The NPCC added that these funds represented the lifeblood of rural aspirations, not only driving critical grassroots-level infrastructure development, but also serving as a vital instrument to provide social security to most of the marginalised communities.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Karnataka High Court declines to quash case against KIADB officer caught while returning alleged bribe amount
The High Court of Karnataka has refused to quash a corruption case against an officer of the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB), who was caught in a 'reverse-trap' case when he was returning the alleged bribe money of ₹3 lakh in cash to the complainant. 'In a reverse trap scenario, the public servant allegedly returns money previously received as illegal gratification. These facts, when projected before the court, require a complex evidentiary matrix. The issues that arise in cases of reverse trap are distinct from a traditional trap. The central twist in a reverse trap would be as to why the public servant returns the money,' the court said. The court said the case requires investigation to demonstrate the innocence of a public servant, as the matter is still at the stage of investigation, to clear obfuscation about whether the bribe was ever demanded or accepted in the first place. Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order while dismissing a petition filed by A.B. Vijaya Kumar, who was working as Special Land Acquisition Officer (SLAO)-2 at KIADB, Bengaluru, during September 2022. The complainant, B.S. Arun, had alleged that he had sought a no-objection certificate from the KIADB for construction related to a temple at Laggere in Bengaluru. Though the petitioner-SLAO had demanded ₹4 lakh bribe and received ₹2.5 lakh through another person from his office for issuing the NoC, the document was not issued despite repeated requests. Hence, Mr. Arun had lodged a complaint with the Special Deputy Commissioner of the KIADB alleging that the petitioner was not issuing the NoC despite receiving the bribe. Following this complaint, the petitioner issued the NoC and is said to have offered to return the bribe amount as a donation to the temple with a request to Mr. Arun to withdraw the complaint made to the Special Deputy Commissioner. The Lokayukta police, acting on the complaint by Mr. Aurn, caught the petitioner red-handed when he was returning ₹3 lakh to the complainant. But it was argued on behalf of the petitioner that the complaint could not have been registered as there was no material for demand and acceptance besides there being mismatch of ₹50,000 between the alleged bribe amount received and returned. However, the court declined to interfere in the investigation, stating that the probe is essential to find out whether the bribe was in fact demanded and accepted as per the law.
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- New Indian Express
TWAD Board officials, contractors accused of looting Rs 90 crore annually in wages across Tamil Nadu
TENKASI/TIRUNELVELI: In a case of systematic corruption that's been going on for years, nearly Rs 90 crore is allegedly being looted every year by officials and contractors of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board through an organised racket of underpayment to contract staff across the state. According to a complaint filed last month by the Tirunelveli-Tenkasi Bharathiya TWAD Board Contract Labourers Union to the MD of the Board, Kiran Gurrala, while the minimum wage fixed for nearly 12,000 labourers working in Combined Water Supply Schemes (CWSSs) across TN is Rs 15,401, they are actually being paid only between Rs 7,500 and Rs 9,800 per month, a shortfall of nearly 40% to 50% of the actual salary. The rest of the amount, Rs 7.42 crore every month from the funds allotted for the workers' salary, is being allegedly pocketed by officials and contractors. We've been fighting for last 20 years for our rightful wage, say contract workers Multiple letters and communications sent to the TWAD Board over the years by stakeholder departments such as labour, Provident Fund, and CM's office have acknowledged the rot in the system but all the corrective actions proposed have been successfully stonewalled by the racketeers, workers alleged. According to the information shared by former TWAD Board MD V Dakshinamoorthy with the labourers in 2022, as many as 11,597 labourers — mostly electricians, pump operators and maintenance assistants — have been working in CWSSs across Tamil Nadu and they are entitled to be paid at least Rs 15,401 every month. In the petition submitted to MD Gurrala, the union said, 'Instead of crediting the full salary to our bank accounts, the illegally-truncated wage is paid in cash to us without any receipt. While a higher salary is shown to have been paid to us in the official records with the connivance of Executive Engineers (EEs) in each district, Rs 7.42 crore is being swindled every month from our wages.' The petitioners also alleged that 'in every three-year contract cycle, about Rs 267 crore of our money is being siphoned off'.
