Anti-corruption police conducted simultaneous searches at municipal offices across Tamil Nadu on September 22 and arrested a municipal engineer in Sivaganga district after he allegedly accepted Rs 2 lakh from contractors linked to the release of payment for Rs 4 crore in road works, according to a report by Dinamalar.
The arrested engineer was identified as Patturajan, who works at Manamadurai Municipality. The report said contractors had alleged that he demanded Rs 4 lakh for releasing funds related to road projects. When the contractors allegedly handed over the first instalment of Rs 2 lakh, anti-corruption officers who were positioned nearby arrested him.
The reported action highlights the role of municipal offices in processing and releasing payments for publicly funded infrastructure works. Road contracts typically pass through administrative, engineering and financial procedures before payments are released, making municipal engineering sections a critical point of contact for contractors and the implementation of civic projects.
In Mayiladuthurai district, six anti-corruption police personnel led by Inspector Arul Priya searched the Sirkazhi municipal office. The officers reportedly kept all officials and employees inside the office, locked the outer door and questioned them during the search. The report said that important documents were seized during the operation, although it did not specify the documents or whether any arrests were made there.
At Athur Municipality in Salem district, anti-corruption police conducted a search following complaints that bribes were being demanded in substantial amounts. During the operation, officers reportedly found and seized Rs 50,000 that had been thrown on the ground near the town-planning section. Officials were questioned about who owned the cash, but the report did not establish its source or whether it was connected to a specific transaction.
Searches were also reported at municipal offices in Avinashi in Tiruppur district, Mettupalayam in Coimbatore district, Udhagamandalam, Perambalur and Jayankondam in Ariyalur district. At Avinashi, Tiruppur anti-corruption officers reportedly locked the municipal office while conducting a detailed search. At Mettupalayam, inspectors Arumugam and Sheila led a team that acted on confidential information, according to the report.
The searches come amid the routine dependence of urban infrastructure delivery on municipal administration. Municipal bodies oversee or facilitate works affecting roads, drainage, sanitation, building permissions and other local services, while their engineering and town-planning sections interact regularly with contractors, property owners and residents. Allegations of bribery at these points can delay payments, raise project costs and weaken confidence in the systems used to deliver civic works.
However, the available report does not provide details of the cases registered in each municipality, the legal sections invoked, the total value of documents or cash seized, or the next procedural steps in the investigation. It also does not state whether the searches in the other municipalities resulted in additional arrests. Further details are expected from the anti-corruption authorities as the searches and investigations progress.
