Passport officer held in city for taking bribe

Passport officer held in city for taking bribe
25 Apr 2009

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/arti ... page-1.cms

CHENNAI: The anti-corruption branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday arrested Sumathi Ravichandran, Chennai regional passport officer (RPO), for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 9,000 from a passport applicant through a tout — a travel agent in T Nagar. Her husband, R Ravichandran, a health officer in Chennai Corporation, was arrested on Saturday for engaging the touts. Two touts — Fathima Muzaffar, director of Ahmed World Travels and daughter of former IUML MP Abdul Samad, and Raju, owner of Raja Travels in Triplicane — were also arrested. A case was registered under Sec 120B (criminal conspiracy) and Sec 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

Sumathi and Fathima were produced before K Naganathan, principal special judge for CBI cases, at his residence on Saturday and remanded in judicial custody. Sumathi told the judge that the case was foisted against her, and requested that she be admitted to a hospital as she was suffering from severe back pain. However, the judge said adequate medical facilities were available at Puzhal prison. Ravichandran and Raju are yet to be remanded. Raju was arrested by the city police last year in a fake passport case.

Following Sumathi's arrest, CBI sleuths raided her residence at Aspiran Garden in Kilpauk and seized Rs 5 lakh cash, documents pertaining to immovable properties worth Rs 1 crore, bank deposit receipts for Rs 4 lakh and documents pertaining to investments in shares, mutual funds and insurance policies in her name and those of her family members. From a locker maintained in a family member's name, officials seized 92 sovereigns of gold jewellery.