Kochi: The Vigilance team arrested the Ernakulam RTO and agents for accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 and a bottle of liquor. The apprehended are RTO Jerson and agents Saji and Ramapatiyar. During a raid at Jerson’s residence in Edappally, the Vigilance also seized 74 bottles of foreign liquor.

The trio accepted the bribe from a bus manager operating on the Chellanam–Fort Kochi route. The complainant's friend owned the bus. As the route permit for this bus had expired, an application was submitted for a new permit for another bus. However, the RTO and his team deliberately delayed granting approval.

Following this, agent Ramapatiyar met the complainant and informed him that another agent, Saji, should be given a bribe of Rs 5,000 per Jerson’s instructions. The complainant then alerted the Vigilance department.

The Vigilance team kept the suspects under surveillance and arrested Saji and Ramapatiyar in front of the Ernakulam RTO office while they were accepting Rs 5,000 and a liquor bottle. Based on their statement, Jerson was also arrested. Further searches at Jerson’s residence led to the seizure of a large stash of liquor bottles.