Merchantile Marine Dept DDG convicted in criminal misconduct

A senior official of the Mercantile Marine Department was today sentenced to one year rigorous imprisonment by a CBI court here for criminal misconduct by facilitating malpractice by two candidates in the Engineering and Ship Survey exam in 2005.
Additional special judge for CBI cases K Paramaraj also imposed a fine of Rs 4,000 on MMD Chennai's Engineer and Ship Surveyor-cum Deputy Director General (Tech) T V S Sarma.
CBI had registered a case based on an allegation that Sarma, an examination in-charge of Engineering and Ship Survey Exam conducted by MMD, conspired with two candidates and helped them manipulate their answer sheets.

Investigations revealed that Sarma facilitated the manipulation by fraudulently removing the answer sheets of these candidates, which were in his custody, and handing them over to candidates, a CBI release said.
The candidates erased the pencil marked portions and inserted the correct answers, for which Sarma had demanded and accepted a total bribe of Rs 5,15,000 from them, it said.
Since the two candidates turned approvers during investigation, they were not sent for trial, it added.
CBI filed a charge sheet against Sarma under various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.