IOC suspends DGM arrested in bribery case
Kochi (PTI): The Indian Oil Corporation suspended its Deputy General Manager Alex Mathew on Sunday, a day after he was arrested while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh from a gas agency owner in Thiruvananthapuram.
Mathew, the DGM at IOC's Ernakulam office, was caught red-handed at the complainant's residence in Kuravankonam on Saturday night by officers of the Special Investigation Unit-1 of the Vigilance Department, officials said.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the IOC said it has taken action to place the official under suspension based on media reports regarding his arrest.
However, the central PSU didn't mention his, name or his designation in the statement.
"In response to several media reports regarding alleged corruption by an official of the Corporation, Indian Oil has taken action to place the officer under suspension and strict disciplinary action will be initiated as per rules," it said.
The statement issued by Geethika Varma, Chief General Manager and state head of IOC, also said that Indian Oil is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and transparency in all its operations.
According to the Vigilance Department, 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, a Vigilance statement had 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, it said.
Following the threat, the gas agency owner informed the Vigilance Department, which laid a trap and arrested Mathew while accepting the bribe, the statement added.
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Pakistan escalating again, Indian response will continue: Foreign Secretary Misri
New Delhi — Indian defence forces successfully thwarted an attempt by Pakistan to target several military locations in Northern and Western India, a senior army officer confirmed during a special press briefing on Thursday.
Colonel Sofiya Quraishi, addressing the media on developments related to Operation Sindoor, said Pakistan had launched a coordinated drone and missile attack on the night of May 7 and 8, aiming at multiple Indian cities including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj.
“These attempts were neutralised by our Integrated Counter-Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Grid and Air Defence systems,” she stated. “Debris recovered from different sites confirms the Pakistani attacks.”
Col Quraishi noted that India's earlier military response was “focused, measured, and non-escalatory,” and that no Pakistani military establishments were targeted at that time. However, she said, India had warned that any attack on its military installations would invite an appropriate response.
“Today morning, Indian Armed Forces responded by targeting Pakistan’s Air Defence Radars and systems at multiple locations. It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system in Lahore has been neutralised,” she added.
In the same briefing, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh highlighted the increased intensity of unprovoked cross-border shelling by Pakistan.
“Pakistan has been using mortars and heavy artillery to target Indian positions along the Line of Control in sectors such as Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, and Rajouri,” she said. “So far, 16 innocent civilians, including three women and five children, have lost their lives due to this shelling.”
She said India was compelled to respond in order to halt the artillery fire from across the border. “Our Armed Forces remain committed to non-escalation, provided this is respected by the Pakistani military,” Wing Commander Singh said.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri also addressed the media, pointing to Pakistan’s contradictory stand on international platforms. He said that despite the terror group The Resistance Front (TRF) publicly claiming responsibility for the Pahalgam attack twice, Pakistan denied their involvement during discussions at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
“Col Quraishi and Wing Commander Singh made it clear that India’s military actions are measured and focused only on terrorist infrastructure. Our intention is not to escalate tensions. We have not targeted any Pakistani military sites,” Misri said.
He further added, “Any further action by Pakistan, some of which we are seeing today, is nothing but escalation by Pakistan once again, and will be responded to and is being responded to appropriately.”
