CHENNAI: In an operation by the sleuths from the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, a Village Administrative Officer (VAO) from Thiruneermalai was arrested on Thursday (Oct 23) 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 Thiruneermalai village.

The case originated from a complaint filed by Megaladevi, a resident of Thillai Ganga Nagar in Chennai. According to officials, Megaladevi had registered a property document at the Sub-Registrar Office in Pallavaram, which was then sent to the Thiruneermalai VAO office for change of the land record (patta) in 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 corrupt 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