VAO, tout arrested for taking bribe from coolie

TRICHY: A village administrative officer (VAO) and a tout were arrested for taking bribe from an agricultural coolie at Vembanur near Manapparai.

The accused have been identified as VAO S Solairaj, 27, of Vembanur and the tout V Baskar, 43.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) of DVAC, G Manikandan said that Karuppan had bought one acre and 20 cents of land in 1997 for Rs10,000. He applied for a name transfer of patta online on September 26, but it was rejected. He applied again on January 19. On January 22, when he checked the application status online, it showed that it was pending with the VAO. So, he inquired with the VAO. The VAO replied that he could arrange for the name transfer if he paid him Rs10,000. Karuppan expressed his unwillingness. So, the VAO reduced the bribe amount to Rs7,000.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, Karuppan lodged a complaint with the DVAC. Police laid a trap and caught the VAO. DSP said that VAO had handed over the money to Baskar. The team recovered the money from Baskar.

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