A 52-year-old Tangedco foreman was arrested by sleuths of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) at Ambur town in Tirupattur for taking ₹10,000 as bribe to provide new electricity connection. 

DVAC sources said the complainant, Mohammed Irfan, 57, a retired driver, and his family had lived in the area for many years. He had been trying to get a new domestic power connection to his recently built house. 

Accordingly, he paid a deposit amount and other charges of ₹27,000 to Tangedco through online payment. Subsequently, the complainant visited the Tangedco office in the town with the receipt and requested K. Sivakumar, 52, the foreman, to erect electricity poles to provide a new connection to his house.

The complainant told DVAC officials that Sivakumar allegedly demanded ₹50,000 to provide the connection. Initially, the foreman asked the complainant to pay at least ₹10,000 to initiate the process of providing new connection. Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant lodged a complaint with DVAC.

A seven-member team led by T. Krishnaraj, Additional SP, DVAC (Tirupattur), laid a trap and caught Sivakumar red-handed. A case has been registered against him. Later, he was arrested and lodged at a sub-jail in Tirupattur town. Further probe is under way.