Deputy tahsildar caught taking Rs20,000 bribe

Trichy: A deputy tahsildar of the revenue department was arrested on Thursday on charges of soliciting and accepting Rs 20,000 as bribe from an individual for rectifying a land title. Directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption officials caught P Ravikumar, 59, of Lalgudi taluk office red-handed while receiving the bribe from complainant G Mohan of Mangammalpuram in Anbil village. DSP G Manikandan of DVAC, Trichy detachment, said that in 2002, Mohan's father Ganesan had acquired 94 cents of land in Mangammalpuram from Krishnasamy, a resident of Srirangam. However, in the land patta, the name was incorrectly recorded as Krishnamurthy instead of Krishnasamy. Hence, Mohan submitted an application for name correction at the office of RDO, Lalgudi, on March 5. His application was forwarded by the village administrative officer (VAO) to deputy tahsildar Ravikumar along with a recommendation for the name change. Despite waiting for more than six months, no action was taken. So Mohan started visiting the office since July to follow up the matter with the deputy tahsildar. On September 26, when he visited the taluk office, the deputy tahsildar demanded a bribe of Rs 50,000 to recommend the name change. After negotiations, Ravikumar agreed to process the application for Rs 20,000. Subsequently, Mohan filed a complaint with DVAC. Acting on it, DVAC officials and police set a trap for the deputy tahsildar and nabbed him when Mohan met him at his office on Thursday and handed over the cash. Further legal action is being initiated against him.