CHENNAI: Directorate of Vigilance and Anti- Corruption (DVAC) sleuths on Tuesday arrested a Tahsildar for allegedly demanding Rs 1 crore to execute a Madras High Court order on encroachment eviction.
The special tahsildar Saroja was arrested after a policeman, a mediator for the transaction, confessed that he had received the money for Saroja.
DVAC took action based on a complaint by Pon Thangavel, a social activist, who was involved in initiating the eviction of encroached government lands in his area. After the HC order, he met the Regional Deputy Commissioner (South) MP Amith who had instructed Saroja to carry out the eviction in three days and do a follow-up.
Citing that the land value around the area would surge if the encroachment was evicted, Saroja had asked the complainant to collect money from the landowners whose land is adjacent to the encroachment and give her Rs 1 crore.
Saroja later reduced the bribe amount to Rs 3 lakh and Pon Thangavel approached the DVAC.
Saroja had directed a policeman named Arun Kumar of St Thomas Mount police station to collect the money from the complainant and give it to her husband Praveen, who is also a policeman in St Thomas Mount Armed Reserve.
As part of a trapping plan, the complainant reached the office of Assistant Commissioner, Adyar, and the DVAC team nabbed Arun Kumar while carrying the money to Praveen.
Based on his confession, special Tahsildar was arrested, noted the DVAC release.