A public health inspector allegedly flushed a ₹10,000 bribe down a toilet when Vigilance officers arrived to catch him red-handed. The money was later recovered from the toilet pipe.

Sreeji G.S., public health inspector grade-II at Tirurangadi municipality, was arrested by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau on October 1 after allegedly accepting the bribe from a complainant seeking a municipal licence for a newly opened restaurant and juice shop.

The complainant had applied for the licence online but said the application was rejected on the ground that it was not in the proper format. He later approached Mr. Sreeji through a friend. The inspector reportedly demanded ₹10,000 to process the licence.

The complainant approached the Vigilance unit at Malappuram, which arranged a trap. The complainant handed over the money to Mr. Sreeji at the room where the inspector was staying at Parappanangadi at around 6.45 p.m.

Soon after the complainant left, a Vigilance team reached the room and knocked on the door. Apparently realising that Vigilance officers were closing in, Mr. Sreeji threw the money into the toilet and flushed it.

Contradictory answers

He initially gave contradictory answers when questioned by the Vigilance officers. The team searched the room and the area around the building for several hours. During further questioning, Mr. Sreeji admitted that he had flushed the money down the toilet.

The officers then removed the toilet and pumped water through the pipe under pressure. They recovered the currency notes that had remained trapped inside the pipe. Mr. Sreeji was arrested and produced before the Vigilance Court at Kozhikode.

Vigilance Director Manoj Abraham urged people to report corruption through the toll-free number 1064, phone 8592900900 or WhatsApp 9447789100.