Provident Fund official sentenced to one year's RI for accepting bribe

Mr D Pandian, then Assistant Provident Fund Commissioner at Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, has been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment (RI) for one year for accepting a bribe of Rs 4 lakh from the representative of a Tanjore-based firm.

Mr M P Jaganathan, Special Judge for CBI Cases, Madurai, convicted Mr Pandian and pronounced the sentence, which also includes a fine of Rs 2000.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Chennai, had registered a case against Mr Pandian on March 11, 2008 after receiving a complaint from the representative of the Tanjore-based firm alleging that the official had demanded a bribe of Rs 4 lakh from him for closing an inquiry against his firm and for not initiating proceedings for previous period and not collecting damages.

According to a CBI press release, a trap was laid on the same day and the accused was caught red-handed while demanding and accepting the bribe from the complainant in the presence of independent witnesses.

NNN