IOC Deputy GM arrested while accepting Rs 2 lakh bribe in TVM

Thiruvananthapuram: The Vigilance Department on Saturday arrested a Deputy General Manager (DGM) of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) for allegedly accepting a Rs 2 lakh bribe from a gas agency owner.

Alex Mathew, the DGM at IOC’s Ernakulam office, was caught by officers of the Special Investigation Unit-1 of the Vigilance Department at the complainant’s residence in Kuravankonam, Thiruvananthapuram, around 7.30 pm, an official statement said. 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, it 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.

Following the threat, the gas agency owner informed the Vigilance Department, which laid a trap and arrested Mathew while accepting the bribe, the statement said. The accused will be produced before a vigilance court, it added.