Tiruneermalai VAO held for taking bribe for patta transfer

CHENNAI: In an operation by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption sleuths, a Village Administrative Officer (VAO) from Tiruneermalai was arrested on Thursday for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 12,000 for a land-related service.

The accused has been identified as T Sangeetha, the VAO of Tiruneermalai village.

Based on a complaint filed by Megaladevi, a resident of Thillai Ganga Nagar in Chennai, she had registered a property document at the Sub-Registrar Office in Pallavaram, which was then sent to the Tiruneermalai VAO office to change the land record (patta) to her name.

Sangeetha received the application for the patta transfer via online mode on October 10. A week later, on October 17, the complainant was approached by Amutha, the Village Assistant, who allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 15,000 on the instructions of VAO Sangeetha to process the application.

Officials stated that the bribe amount was later negotiated down to Rs 12,000 by the VAO herself. Unwilling to yield to the demand, Megaladevi approached the Chennai unit DVAC and filed a formal complaint.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered, and a trap was laid by the anti-corruption officials. During the trap proceedings, VAO Sangeetha was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe amount of Rs 12,000 from the complainant.