A village administrative officer was arrested in Salem district after allegedly accepting a ₹4,000 bribe to change a name on a patta, according to a report by Dinamalar – Tamil Nadu. The arrest was carried out by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption police after a complainant approached the agency instead of paying the demanded amount directly.
The incident was reported from Chekkadipatti in Pethanaickenpalayam taluk, where village administrative officer Saravanan was approached by a person seeking a name change in a patta. The officer allegedly demanded ₹4,000 for carrying out the change, the report said.
The complainant, who did not want to pay the bribe, submitted a complaint to the Salem anti-corruption police. Following the complaint, the officials provided the person with ₹4,000 coated with a chemical and instructed him to hand over the money to Saravanan.
The complainant subsequently gave the chemically treated cash to the VAO in the presence of officers who were positioned nearby. The anti-corruption police then arrested Saravanan, according to the report.
A patta is a key land record used in the administration of property ownership and related transactions. Requests to alter the name recorded in such documents can therefore affect residents dealing with inheritance, transfers and other land-related procedures. The reported case places the alleged bribe demand within the routine functioning of local land administration in a village under Salem district.
The report did not provide details of the complainant’s property, the exact nature of the requested name change, or the sections of law invoked in the arrest. It also did not state whether the patta name change had been completed or identify any other official as having been involved.
The Salem anti-corruption police were continuing their inquiry into the case after the arrest, Dinamalar reported. Further details about the investigation and any subsequent legal proceedings were not available in the supplied report.
