Coimbatore Corporation bill collector arrested for graft

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Tuesday arrested a bill collector of the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) on charge of demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹40,000 from a man for fixing vacant land tax for a plot of land.

The arrested has been identified as Yamuna Devi (56). This person had been working as a bill collector in CCMC’s South Zone, covering areas such as wards 96 and 97.

According to the DVAC, one Prakash planned to construct a mini theatre in a vacant land on lease. The owner of the land applied with CCMC for fixing vacant land tax for the plot and Mr. Prakash was following up the status of the application. According to DVAC officials, devi demanded a bribe of ₹40,000 from Mr. Prakash for the process.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, he approached the DVAC. It organised a trap. Mr. Prakash met the bill collector in a bakery at Sundarapuram and handed over the sum she demanded. DVAC sleuths, who were waiting at the spot, caught her in the act.