TIRUPATTUR: Tirupattur police arrested the Assistant Director (AD) of horticulture based in Kottur in the Tiruvarur district for cheating a native of Vaniyambadi on Tuesday.

Sources said that Elappan (53) of Thimmampet in Natrampalli Panchayat Union became friendly with the AD Balathandayutham (55) and based on this friendship Elappan requested that Balathandayutham help four persons including his son, son-in-law and the sons of his friends get government jobs.

Balathandayutham accepted and in this connection received Rs 27 lakh from the quartet. Then along with his friends, Balathandayutham prepared bogus appointment orders for the post of VAOs for the four and handed them over. When the recipients realised that the appointment orders were bogus they demanded the return of their money, When the AD delayed payment, Elappan lodged a complaint to Tirupattur SP Albert John. Based on the SP’s orders a special party probed the issue and arrested Balathandyutham.