A 38-year-old Village Administrative Officer (VAO) of Veppur village that comes under K.V. Kuppam taluk in Vellore was arrested by sleuths of Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Tuesday for demanding and taking a bribe of Rs 10,000 for patta name change.

DVAC sources said that the complainant S. Nizamuddin ,40, an autorickshaw driver, has been living in the Railway Station area that comes under Gudiyatham municipality for many years. He has 35 cents of his ancestral land in the area. The land was in the name of his mother, Paritha Begam.

Recently, she transferred the land to her son’s name. However, the name in the original patta of the land has remained in her name. Nizamuddin planned to build a house by taking a housing loan. As patta remains in his mother’s name, the loan was denied for him. As a result, he applied for a name change of the patta into his name at the e-seva centre in Veppur village a few months ago.

Subsequently, complainant Nizamuddin met V. Gopinath, VAO and accused, at the VAO office in Veppur village. The VAO initially demanded a sum of ₹15,000 for patta name change. As the complainant visits his office regularly and earns low income, the VAO reduced his bribe money to ₹10,000 and told Nizamuddin that he should pay the money to get his job done. 

Unwilling to pay the bribe, Nizamuddin lodged a complaint with the DVAC. A seven-member team led by S. Mythili, Inspector, DVAC (Vellore), laid a trap and caught VAO Gopinath red-handed. A case has been registered against him. Later, VAO was arrested and lodged at Central Prison in Vellore. A probe is underway.