Sleuths of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption arrested the Village Administrative Officer of Nambiyur for demanding and accepting ₹7,000 for issuing a land ownership certificate.
It was alleged that the VAO, Subash Kumar, demanded ₹20,000 when Periya Gounder (70), a farmer at Karattupalayam in Gobichettipalayam, approached him for the certificate two months ago.
When the VAO was subsequently transferred from Karattupalayam to Nambiyur, he took along with him the farmer’s application form. Periyar Gounder went to Nambiyur and asked for the certificate, but the VAO allegedly demanded ₹7,000. Unwilling to pay the money, the farmer alerted the DVAC, whose sleuths laid a trap.
When Periya Gounder handed over the money to Subash Kumar on Friday, the sleuths caught him red-handed.
He was arrested, produced in the court and lodged in the prison.