Thanjavur: The sleuths of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) wing trapped and arrested a woman Village Administrative Officer in Thanjavur today, when the official took a bribe of Rs. 3,000 from a farmer, for processing his application seeking individual patta.

45-year-old Chandrababu, a farmer from Kandithampattu village, owned a piece of land measuring 39 cents. Since it was a joint patta, Chandrababu presented an application to the Taluk Office, requesting to convert it as individual patta. The Tahsildar, in turn, forwarded the farmer’s petition to Sangeetha, the Village Administrative Officer at Kandithampattu.

When VAO Sangeetha kept delaying the processing of his petition, the aggrieved Chandrababu approached her to find out why. She reportedly demanded a bribe of Rs. 3,000, and instructed him to bring the money to her residence, at RMS Colony, Thanjavur.

A very disgusted Chandrababu reported this matter to the Additional SP Rathinavel of DVAC, Thanjavur. Based on his complaint, the DVAC sleuths registered a case and decided to lay a trap.

As instructed by the DVAC officials, Chandrababu went to the residence of VAO Sangeetha, at RMS Colony in Thanjavur, and gave her the bribe of Rs. 3,000. As soon as she received it, the DVAC sleuths caught her red-handed, and recovered the bribe.