MADURAI: Rajagopalaperi Village Administrative Officer in Tenkasi district, Padmavathy, was caught red-handed by DVAC sleuths on Tuesday while taking a bribe for name transfer in Patta.

Earlier, S Kumaravel from Kalingapatti village of Veerakeralampudur taluk on January 6 approached the VAO for the patta name transfer and he was asked to apply for it through the e-service centre at the taluk office.

The VAO then asked Kumaravel for photocopies of documents and demanded Rs 10,000 for meeting expenses to provide Patta name transfer order. When Kumaravel, the complainant, refused to pay such an amount as he could not afford it, the VAO demanded Rs 5,000 as a bribe.

The complainant was told that only when Rs 4,500 was paid, he could get the patta transfer order. Since Kumaravel was reluctant to bribe, he lodged a complaint with the DVAC, Tenkasi on January 20 and the sleuths laid a trap, sources said.