Two electricity personnel were arrested in Coimbatore district after allegedly accepting a Rs 7,000 bribe from a farmer who had applied for a three-phase power connection, according to a report by Dinamalar. The arrests took place in connection with a complaint from a farmer in Pattinam village near Kinathukadavu.
The arrested personnel were identified as Commercial Inspector Velmurugan and Gangman Naveen Kumar. The report stated that Velmurugan allegedly demanded Rs 7,000 from the farmer for providing the new electricity connection.
The farmer was unwilling to pay the amount and approached the anti-corruption police with a complaint. Following the complaint, the police reportedly instructed him to hand over the money to the official as part of a planned trap operation.
The farmer then gave the money to Velmurugan, while police personnel remained nearby. The report stated that the police arrested Velmurugan and Naveen Kumar after the money was allegedly received.
The case highlights the importance of electricity connections for agricultural activity in rural areas, where farmers may depend on power supply for operating pumps and other equipment. A three-phase connection is generally used for higher-load agricultural and commercial applications, although the report did not provide details about the farmer’s landholding, proposed equipment or the status of the connection application.
The reported incident occurred in Pattinam village, in the Kinathukadavu area of Coimbatore district. The source report did not specify when the application was submitted, which office processed it, whether the requested connection had been sanctioned, or what further administrative action would follow the arrests.
The arrests followed a complaint-led operation rather than a routine inspection, according to the report. No details were provided in the supplied material about the sections of law invoked, the recovery procedure for the alleged bribe amount, or whether the accused personnel were suspended or produced before a court.
The allegations remain subject to the legal process. The next formal steps, including the investigation and any departmental action, were not detailed in the report.
