In the early hours on Friday, the sleuths from the Vellore unit of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) seized ₹77,100 from the checkpost of Regional Transport Office (RTO) at Christianpet near Katpadi in Vellore. The search lasted for five hours between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Friday.
Friday's surprise check comes after similar searches were carried out by the DVAC in which they seized unaccounted cash from the Sub-Registrar office in Velapadi in Vellore on Thursday. The same two teams, comprising four officials in each team, that was led by DVAC inspector Vijayalakshmi and Vijay, conducted the surprise check in the early hours on Friday at the checkpost.
“Such surprise checks do happen on a regular basis. Before going for such checks, we ensure that we verify our alerts with multiple sources,” said a DVAC official.
The Christianpet is a border village connecting neighbouring Andhra Pradesh (Chittoor) with Katpadi in Vellore. It has two checkposts — one maintained by the district police and the other by the transport department separately.
The significance of conducting the surprise check early in the morning, DVAC officials said, was because transport staff changed their shift around that time with their collections. Also, DVAC officials said the checkpost witnesses more number of goods-laden lorries during early hours in the day, especially from neighbouring States like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to reach Chennai, Tiruvannamalai and Puducherry. These vehicles rush through the checkposts at Christianpet near Vellore to avoid traffic snarls at industrial zones in Sriperumbudur and Irungattukottai areas in Kancheepuram.
