Village officer held in Kerala while accepting Rs 1 lakh bribe

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Tuesday arrested a village officer and his aide while accepting Rs 1 lakh bribe at his office here, officials said.

Sajesh, village officer at the Elamkulam Village Office under Kanayannur Taluk, was arrested by VACB officials as he accepted the amount at 6 PM from a complainant and handed it over to his friend Varghese.

Officials said a trap was set up for the Village Officer following a complaint from Antro.

Antro had approached the village officer in July last year with an application to legally obtain the ownership of four cents of land he had got from his mother.

The village officer sought Rs 1.5 lakh bribe for providing him the certificate.

When Antro approached Sajesh through one of his friends, the amount was reduced to Rs 1 lakh.

Antro filed a petition with the VACB against Sajesh which laid a trap and arrested him along with his friend Varghese, who allegedly played a middleman's role in the deal.

VACB said the arrested accused will be produced before the Vigilance Court, Muvattupuzha on Wednesday.