Kollam Vigilance court sentences retired Kerala cop to 7 yrs' imprisonment in bribery case

In the first verdict pronounced since the Vigilance Court was set up in Kollam, Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge (Vigilance) Mohit C S sentenced retired ASI, R Mohanan, who was found guilty of accepting a bribe, to seven years' simple imprisonment on Saturday. He was also fined ₹20,000.

Mohanan, who had served as the Additional SI at Chathannor police station, was found guilty of accepting bribes ranging between ₹1500 and ₹ 2000 for issuing a copy of the FIR in a road traffic accident case in 2015. He was the investigating officer in the case. He initially demanded and accepted ₹1500 from the complainant, Vijayachandran Nair.

Later, he also sought money from his son for registering a crime in connection with the accident. Mohanan would again demand ₹1500 to release the vehicle involved in the accident and an additional ₹500 to issue a copy of the mahazar.

The Vigilance and Anti-corruption bureau (VACB), arrested him in 2015 when he received ₹2000 from the complainant at Chathannoor police station. The prosecution proved that the accused was a public servant, he accepted gratification other than the legal remuneration and that the gratification was for an illegal purpose.

The accused told the court that he had poor eyesight and had undergone two surgeries and pleaded for mercy, citing his age. The judge quoted the Supreme Court observation that corruption in a civilised society is a disease like cancer, which, if not detected in time, is sure to malign the polity of the country, leading to disastrous consequences.

The court, while pronouncing the verdict, considered the accused's age, eyesight deficiency, and health condition.

Siju Rajan, Public Prosecutor, VACB, Kollam, appeared for the prosecution.