An executive officer and an office assistant from the Old Jayankondam town panchayat in Karur district were apprehended on Monday for allegedly demanding and receiving a bribe. The incident occurred when a man named Kumaresh, a resident of Poovampadi village, approached the officials to fix the tax on a piece of land he had acquired.
Kumaresh, a salesman at a textile shop in Karur, had applied for tax assessment on a three-cent plot of land inherited from his friend. The office assistant, Sivakumar, accepted his application and instructed him to return to the town panchayat office after the land was measured. Three days later, on August 9, Kumaresh visited the office to inquire about the assessment.
Sivakumar informed Kumaresh that a tax of Rs 13,000 would be levied on his land but demanded an additional Rs 17,000 as a bribe, totaling Rs 30,000, to complete the process. When Kumaresh questioned the extra payment, Sivakumar suggested he speak to the executive officer, Rajagopal. Rajagopal, in turn, advised Kumaresh to pay the amount demanded by Sivakumar to expedite the process.
Reluctant to pay the bribe, Kumaresh filed a complaint with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC). Based on his complaint, a case was registered against Rajagopal and Sivakumar. Following the DVAC’s instructions, Kumaresh met the officials at their office and handed over the cash. A DVAC team, stationed discreetly at the office, caught the officials red-handed while accepting the bribe.
The DVAC arrested both Rajagopal and Sivakumar and seized the bribe amount of Rs 17,000. This incident highlights the ongoing issue of corruption within government agencies and underscores the importance of vigilance in combating such practices.
