Investigations are ongoing to determine whether other officials were complicit in the bribery scheme or if similar complaints have been made against Rajendran.
Published Oct 26, 2025 | 2:55 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 26, 2025 | 2:55 PM
Representational image. Credit:: iStock
Synopsis: A junior engineer was arrested for allegedly demanding a ₹20,000 bribe, reduced to ₹9,000, to process an agricultural electricity connection for a police constable named Bhupathi Raja. Raja alerted the Anti-Corruption Bureau, who set a trap with chemically marked notes. The accused, Rajendran, was caught during a raid and arrested. Investigations continue to uncover potential accomplices or similar complaints.
A junior engineer from the Electricity Department in Puducherry’s Vadhanur was held on Saturday, 25 October, Saturday, for allegedly accepting a bribe to facilitate an electricity connection for agricultural land.
The complainant, Bhupathi Raja, a resident of Sellipet village and a constable with the Puducherry police, had applied for a new agricultural electricity service for his farmland. He alleged that the junior engineer, Rajendran, demanded ₹20,000 to process the application, reported The New Indian Express.
Following negotiations, Rajendran reportedly agreed to accept a reduced sum of ₹9,000. Unwilling to comply with the bribe demand, Bhupathi Raja contacted the Anti-Corruption Bureau and lodged a formal complaint.
The cops devised a sting operation, providing Raja with currency notes coated with chemical powder and instructing him to hand the money to the accused.
When Bhupathi Raja visited the Vadhanur office and paid the marked notes, the Anti-Corruption Police, on prowl nearby, conducted a surprise raid. Rajendran was caught red-handed with the tainted currency and was promptly arrested.
Investigations are ongoing to determine whether other officials were complicit in the bribery scheme or if similar complaints have been made against Rajendran.
