Village panchayat clerk held for taking bribe

THANJAVUR: A 56-year-old clerk of the Kadakadappai village panchayat in Thanjavur district was arrested on Friday for soliciting and accepting a bribe of 1,250 in exchange for issuing a tax receipt for constructing a house.

Sleuths of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) caught clerk Anthonysamy, of Thirukkanurpatti in Thanjavur, red handed while accepting the bribe from complainant Philipraj, of Punnainalur Mariamman temple area in Thanjavur.

A DVAC official said Philipraj is planning to build a house for his daughter in Mallika Nagar, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Kadakadappai Panchayat. He approached Anthonysamy to procure the necessary permits.

At that time, Anthonysamy demanded a bribe of 2,000 and directed Philipraj to deliver an initial instalment of 1,250 at the office of the block development officer (BDO). Unwilling to pay the bribe, Philipraj reported the incident to the DVAC.

As instructed by DVAC officials, Philipraj met Anthonysamy at the BDO office on Friday evening and handed him the bribe. DSP Nandagopal, inspectors Padmavathi and Arun Prasad caught Anthonysamy and arrested him.

Meanwhile, other officials, upon discovering the presence of the DVAC team on the premises, tried to hide the bribe money they collected in a document storage room. DVAC officers observed this and confiscated around 50,000 from the room. Further investigation is on.