An Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) attached to the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited’s (TNPDCL) in Coimbatore was arrested for demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹90,000 on Friday.

According to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), M. Kathirvel (50), AEE at TNPDCL’s Chinnavedampatti office, was arrested while accepting the bribe from an individual, who had applied for net metering for his newly installed 60 kW solar system.

DVAC sources said that the petitioner hailing from Ganapathy approached Kathirvel on June 12 with an application for net metering for the new solar system.

As per the complaint, the AAE initially demanded ₹2 lakh as bribe, which he later reduced to ₹1.2 lakh. He then demanded ₹90,000, which is  ₹1,500 per kW, as bribe. Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the DVAC.

A DVAC team supervised by Additional Superintendent of Police C. Rajesh laid a trap and the complainant met the AEE at his office on Friday. DVAC sleuths caught Kathirvel when he accepted the money from the complainant, said an officer.