Forest staff held for demanding bribe to release salary dues

A junior assistant of the Forest Department in Vellore was arrested by sleuths of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) for demanding and receiving a bribe of ₹10,000 from the wife of a deceased forest guard to release pending salary dues.

DVAC sources said that the complainant, J. Shanthi (55), was the wife of deceased Jayavel, who lived in Ranipet. Jayavel served as a forest guard in Puttuthakku RF in Ranipet district before retiring in 2022. His salary was revised under the Seventh Pay Commission. However, he was not given the revised salary payments.

After his retirement, Jayavel was visiting the Forest Department divisional office in Vellore to seek disclosure of the revised salary dues of ₹ 2.18 lakh for the years 2012 to 2022.

Officer wants bribe

When he died in 2024, Jayavel’s wife Santhi was frequently going to the forest division office to claim dues. The junior assistant in the office asked Elumalai to clear documents related to her husband’s pending dues.

However, Elumalai allegedly demanded an amount of ₹10,000 for this purpose.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, Shanthi filed a complaint with the DVAC. A seven-member team led by DVAC (Vellore) SP MP K. Sankar caught Ellumali by laying a trap. A lawsuit was filed against him. An investigation is ongoing.