Tahsildar, assistant arrested for receiving ₹10,000 bribe
A 40-year-old Tahsildar and her office assistant in Arani town near Tiruvannamalai were arrested by sleuths of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) for receiving a bribe of ₹10,000 from a canteen contractor for a solvency certificate.
According to DVAC sources, Arani taluk Tahsildar K. Manjula, 40, initially demanded a bribe of ₹20,000 from the complainant, C. Srinivasan, 54, when he made a request for the issuance of a solvency certificate.
DVAC sources said Srinivasan, a native of Kattukanallur village that comes under Arani taluk, is a private contractor who runs a small canteen at the forest department office in Amirithi near Vellore. He was undertaking tenders under his mother’s name for many years. The certificate for it has been registered for a value of around ₹20 lakhs.
Mr. Srinivasan decided to renew the certificate to get new canteen orders this year. Accordingly, he paid the government fee of ₹7,900 at the bank. With the challan, he applied for the renewal certificate to the Village Administrative Officer (VAO), Revenue Inspector (RI), and the Deputy Tahsildar, from whom he got the clearance.
Subsequently, he met with Tahsildar Manjula, who demanded ₹20,000 to issue the certificate. She asked Mr. Srinivasan to pay the money to her office assistant, S. Babu, 54. Later, she reduced the bribe amount to ₹10,000.
Unwilling to pay the bribe, Mr. Srinivasan lodged a complaint with the DVAC.
A seven-member team led by S. Velmurugan, Deputy SP, DVAC (Tiruvannamalai), laid a trap and caught the office assistant red-handed.
A case was registered against both Manjula and Babu. They have been lodged at the Arani Sub-Jail.
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