KOCHI, Mar 16: The Indian Oil Corporation suspended its Deputy General Manager Alex Mathew on Sunday, a day after he was arrested while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh from a gas agency owner in Thiruvananthapuram.
Mathew, the DGM at IOC’s Ernakulam office, was caught red-handed at the complainant’s residence in Kuravankonam on Saturday night by officers of the Special Investigation Unit-1 of the Vigilance Department, officials said.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the IOC said it has taken action to place the official under suspension based on media reports regarding his arrest.
However, the central PSU didn’t mention his, name or his designation in the statement.
“In response to several media reports regarding alleged corruption by an official of the Corporation, Indian Oil has taken action to place the officer under suspension and strict disciplinary action will be initiated as per rules,” it said.
The statement issued by Geethika Varma, Chief General Manager and state head of IOC, also said that Indian Oil is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and transparency in all its operations.
According to the Vigilance Department, Matthew had allegedly demanded Rs 10 lakh from the complainant to prevent the transfer of customers from his wife’s IOC-licensed gas agency to other agencies.
When the complainant refused, the official allegedly transferred 1,200 connections to other agencies, a Vigilance statement had said.
The accused later warned the complainant that more customer connections would be reassigned if the bribe was not paid upon his visit to Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, it said.
Following the threat, the gas agency owner informed the Vigilance Department, which laid a trap and arrested Mathew while accepting the bribe, the statement added. (PTI)
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