Kovalam SI arrested for taking Rs 2 lakh bribe


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kovalam Crime SI R. Venugopalan Nair and a hotel owner Somarajan alias Chandu were arrested on Saturday for accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh from an NRI Malayalee in a suicide case. A local court remanded both of them till June 2. Somarajan, who is the owner of hotel in Kovalam, was the mediator.


The team led by Vigilance SP P. Yogesh and DySP Sukesan hid under the seat of the Scorpia car of the NRI Malayalee and caught Venugopalan Nair and Chandu.


According to Vigilance, a person named Joshi Chacko who is a relative of the above mentioned NRI Malayalee committed suicide at Chandu’s hotel on May 2. Both Chacko and his NRI relative had involved in land deals. Chandu got a death note and some papers containing some addresses from the room where Joshi died. In the death note it was stated that an NRI Malayalee from Ettumanoor had to give Rs 15 lakh to Joshi. Chandu and SI Venugopalan sent a copy of this death note to the NRI. They blackmailed him to give Rs 7.5 lakh in order to settle the case.


But the NRI who contacted vigilance officers reached Kovalam under the latters’ instruction. He had ‘agreed’ to give Rs 4 lakh in order to close the case and got promise from the SI and Chacko that he would be handed the original death note once he give them Rs 2 lakh.


The vigilance later hid under the seat of the NRI’s car and held them.

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