The Perumalpuram police have arrested a fireman who allegedly put ₹2.51 lakh in the Office of Deputy Director Fire and Rescue Services in a bid to land the senior officer in trouble during the raid by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption police.
During the surprise check conducted by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Wing Police in the Office of Deputy Director Fire and Rescue Services in NGO Colony on November 18 afternoon, unaccounted ₹2.51 lakh in cash was recovered from the Thoothukudi SIPCOT Fire Station office.
Deputy Director of Fire and Rescue Services Saravana Babu had then contended that it was not his money, which had been kept in six covers in one of the racks in the office.
Sources in the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Wing said the six covers containing the cash had six different names, all written by the same person, to show that the money had been given to the senior officer.
Even as the investigation about this seizure was going on, CCTV footages collected from the cameras fitted in the nearby house went viral on social media giving an unexpected twist to this episode.
The footages showed an unidentified person coming on a bike to the Office of Deputy Director of Fire and Rescue Services in the small hours of November 18 opening the lock in the wicket gate of the office and going inside. He leaves the office after spending a few minutes inside.
After Mr. Saravana Babu filed a complaint with the police, efforts were on to establish the identity of the person who went inside the Deputy Director’s Office in the small hours and his purpose behind the visit.
As the investigators identified him as fireman Anand who had gone inside the Office and had kept the cash in the rack, he was arrested on Wednesday. Anand’s relative Muthu Sudalai, who allegedly played a role in this ploy, was also picked-up by the police.
Further investigations are on.
Published – November 26, 2025 08:29 pm IST
