P. Indira. File
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) arrested an Assistant Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) on charges of demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹1.5 lakh in exchange for the Department to take over the administration of temples belonging to a community.
P. Indira, 54, a Group B officer, who had been serving as the Assistant Commissioner of the HR&CE on Dr. Balasundaram Road in Coimbatore, was arrested in a trap laid by the DVAC on Thursday (July 17, 2025) night, based on a complaint lodged by N. Sureshkumar, 52, of Rathinapuri in the city.
As per a statement from the DVAC, the complainant is a civil contractor from Hindu Boyar community. The temples associated with this community are located at Pappampatty village near Sulur, and their annual income is ₹40 lakh.
According to the DVAC, the complainant and two others submitted a representation to Indira on March 18 this year to take over the administration of the temples, alleging that their administration and fund management were not proper and transparent.
The complainant also filed a writ petition before the Madras High Court, seeking directions to expedite the undertaking process. The High Court, in its order on June 16, ordered the HR&CE to complete the undertaking process within 12 weeks.
The DVAC stated that the complainant met with Indira several times to follow up. However, the officer demanded a bribe of ₹3 lakh, which she later reduced to ₹2 lakh. When the complainant enquired about the status of the undertaking process on Wednesday (July 16), she told him that the file was pending with her inspector. Indira repeated her demand for a bribe of ₹2 lakh, stating that she would recommend the undertaking process and send a report to the Commissioner of HR&CE. The amount was reduced to ₹1.5 lakh upon the request of the complainant.
Unwilling to offer the bribe to Indira, the complainant approached the DVAC Coimbatore unit. A team headed by DVAC Additional Deputy Superintendent of Police M.P. Dhivya organised a trap and handed over currencies laced with phenolphthalein to the complainant.
As instructed by Indira, the complainant met her in front of a furniture showroom on Bharathiar Road at Pappanaickenpalayam between 7.55 p.m. and 8.15 p.m. on Thursday.
According to the DVAC, Indira arrived the location by foot and instructed the complainant to place the cash into a yellow cloth bag that she had brought. She did not touch the currencies. Two official witnesses and the trap team observed the entire interaction from a distance. After receiving a signal from the complainant, the trap team approached the accused. The accused became nervous and placed the bag containing the bribe on the ground when the officials introduced themselves.
A phenolphthalein test was conducted on Indira’s fingers and on the bag at a nearby shop. The DVAC stated that no visible colour changes were found in the washes from her fingers, but the test done on the bag turned positive. The tainted currency amounting to ₹1.5 lakh was recovered intact from the accused along with her yellow bag, it stated.
The DVAC added that a CCTV footage of Indira accepting the bribe was collected from a shop at the trap location. The officer was arrested following the trap late on Thursday.
Published – July 18, 2025 01:09 pm IST
