Thalassery: Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Kerala (VACB) officials on Wednesday arrested Manjima P. Raju, a Junior Superintendent with the Thiruvananthapuram Electrical Inspectorate, while she was allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹6,000 at Thalassery railway station.

Manjima, a native of Chendayad in Panoor, was taken into custody following a complaint related to the grant of an electrical B-class contractor licence. She was later produced before the Thalassery Additional District Court (IV), which is in charge of the Thalassery Vigilance Court, and was remanded to the Kannur Women’s Jail. The complainant is a resident of Parassinikadavu in Kannur district.

The complainant had submitted an online application on December 10, 2025, to the Kerala State Electrical Licensing Board seeking a B-class electrical contractor licence to work as an electrical supervisor.

It is alleged that Manjima, in her capacity as Junior Superintendent at the Thiruvananthapuram Electrical Inspectorate, demanded ₹6,000 to process the application. The complainant was informed that the licence would be issued only after the amount was paid.

The demand for money was reportedly conveyed through WhatsApp messages as well. It is learned that the accused instructed the complainant to hand over the bribe at Thalassery railway station on Wednesday morning.

Following this, the complainant approached the Kannur Vigilance Deputy Superintendent of Police and lodged a complaint. Acting on the information, a vigilance team laid a trap and arrested Manjima at the railway station at around 6.20 am while she was allegedly receiving the bribe amount of ₹6,000.

Vigilance officials have arrested 75 people, including officials and middlemen, in 56 trap cases this year. This marks the highest number of trap cases registered by the Vigilance department in a single year.

Department-wise figures show that 19 arrests were made in the Revenue department, 12 in Local Self-Government institutions, six in the Police department, three each in the Education department and the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), and 13 in other departments.