The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested M Manu Neethi Cholan, registrar of companies, Chennai, on charges of taking a bribe of Rs 10 lakh. 

 

Acting on a tip-off, ACB sleuths laid a trap and nabbed Cholan when he accepted the bribe from a man who had approached him to start a new company. A case was registered against Registrar of Companies, Chennai and Chairman of Group of Companies based at Tamil Nadu U/s120-B of IPC and 7, 12 & 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of PC Act 1988 on information alleging that the Registrar of Companies, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Chennai has demanded an amount of Rs.10 lakhs as illegal gratification from a Chairman of Group of Companies based at Tamil Nadu. It was further alleged that there was an attempt by rival group within the management to take control over the Group of Companies during the Annual General Body meeting to be held on 27.08.2014 at Chennai and the Registrar of Companies demanded the illegal gratification for not approving the decision that is going to be taken during the above meeting. CBI laid a trap and the vehicle in which the Registrar of Companies was travelling immediately after collection of the money, was intercepted. CBI officials confirmed the arrest. They said he would be produced before the CBI court on the Madras high court premises later. Searches were conducted at the official & residential premises of Registrar of Companies at Chennai. Several incriminating documents; a Computer Hard Disc and an amount of Rs.20 lakhs was recovered from his residence.

This is the third arrest of top officials in Tamil Nadu on corruption charges in the last five years. Additional director-general of revenue intelligence C Rajan was arrested in 2012 for accepting a bribe of Rs 8 lakh and an iPad. Earlier, in 2009, the CBI arrested Sumathi Ravichandran, regional passport officer, for running a ‘parallel passport office’ and issuing tatkal passports in sky-high rates.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________