Fourteen excise officers, including a Deputy Excise Commissioner, have been suspended in connection with the recent seizure of unaccounted money of ₹10.23 lakh from the Excise division office here.
A team of Vigilance officers had recovered ₹10,23,600 during a raid in the Excise division office here on May 16. Senior excise officers, including Deputy Commissioner M.M. Nasar, were suspended on Tuesday following an investigation conducted by the Joint Excise Commissioner.
The other officers suspended are Circle Inspector (EE & ANSS) S. Sajeev, Chittur Circle Inspector K. Ajayan, Chittur Excise Inspector E. Ramesh, Palakkad Inspector Senthil Kumar, attendant at Palakkad division office Nooruddin, preventive officer A.S. Praveen Kumar, Palakkad Special Squad Office preventive officer Mansoor Ali, civil excise officers Vinayakan and Sasikumar, preventive officers P. Shaji and Shyamjit, and other officers Sooraj and P. Santhosh Kumar.
Toddy shop permits
A team of vigilance officers led by M. Gangadharan raided the Excise office following complaints of corruption and bribes for renewing the permits of toddy shops and for toddy transporting.
When ₹2.24 lakh was recovered from the office attendant, ₹7.99 lakh was seized from a car belonging to a contractor. The money was meant for distribution among officers in the Excise division office, Excise Intelligence Office of Chittur circle, Excise Special Squad Office, and Chittur Range Office.
