State Minister’s private secretary and activist arrested for Rs. 1.5 million bribe

August 1, 2024 at 9:05 PM

A private secretary of a State Minister and a political activist have been arrested by officials of the Bribery Commission over charges of soliciting a bribe of Rs. 1.5 million. 

Lankadeepa newspaper reported that the duo had solicited the bribe in order to provide a permit from the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) facilitating a sand-mining business of the complainant. 

The state minister’s secretary and the political activist were reportedly apprehended in Batticaloa after accepting the bribe. The arrest followed a complaint from the Batticaloa-based businessman seeking the GSMB permit.

Both the state minister’s secretary and the political activist are residents of Batticaloa. (Newswire)