PF Commissioner held by CBI on bribe charge

The arrested include Regional Commissioner of Employees Provident Fund Office, Chennai, two other EPF employees from the Ambattur office of the EPF, the owner of a private consultancy firm, a chartered accountant and two office-bearers of a private educational institute in the city. CBI sleuths nabbed Durga Prasad, the Regional Commissioner of EPFO, Chennai at Ambattur on Sunday when he was accepting Rs 15 lakh from Chudalamuthu, owner of Prema Consultancy in Ambattur. 

CBI officials had information that Rs 25 lakh had  been paid by a private educational institution to ‘subterfuge’ the salaries of the employees of the institution to avoid contributing to the employees provident fund. 

Apart from Durga Prasad, the CBI also arrested EPF’s enforcement officials G Ezhumalai and J Manikandan, Chudalamuthu, owner of Prema Consutlatancy in Ambattur, a  chartered accountant and two officials of the educational Institution. 

Highly placed CBI sources told DT Next that the management of the educational institution had paid Rs 25 lakh to the EPF’s enforcement officers, G Ezhumalai and J Manikandan, who were attached to the EPF office at Ambattur. 

Durga Prasad, had instructed his subordinates to hand over Rs 15 lakh to Chudalamuthu. “He had already instructed Chudalamuthu to pay  the amount to him. And as per their agreement, Chudalamuthu handed over Rs 15 lakh to Durga Prasad at Ambattur on Sunday. 

Our officials caught them red-handed at Ambattur. Several  teams of the anti corruption unit raided the premises of the educational institution and also at the residence, office and properties of the accused. Raids continued till late hours on Monday.