A panchayat secretary in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district was arrested after allegedly accepting a ₹20,000 bribe from a contractor seeking payment for a completed water storage tank project, according to a report by Dinamalar.
The accused, identified as 28-year-old Karthik, is the secretary of Ithalar panchayat in the Ooty area. The reported case relates to a water storage tank constructed in the Osatti area under the panchayat’s jurisdiction at an estimated cost of ₹7.50 lakh.
After the construction work was completed, contractor Saravanan reportedly approached Karthik to release the bill amount due for the project. The panchayat secretary allegedly demanded ₹20,000 in exchange for releasing the payment, the report said.
Saravanan is reported to have approached the Ooty unit of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption after refusing to pay the alleged bribe. Following the complaint, a police team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Joy Dayal and Inspector Shanmugavadivu arranged a trap.
According to the report, police treated the currency notes with a chemical and instructed Saravanan to hand them over to Karthik. Saravanan then went to the panchayat secretary’s office and allegedly gave him the money while anti-corruption officers waited nearby.
The officers arrested Karthik after he was allegedly caught accepting the money. The report said he was produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.
The case highlights the administrative chain involved in paying contractors for local public works. A water storage tank may be a small project in financial terms, but its completion and payment depend on records, certification and the actions of officials responsible for processing local-government bills. Any alleged demand for money at that stage can delay payments to contractors and affect the delivery of basic civic infrastructure.
The reported arrest follows a trap operation based on the contractor’s complaint. The anti-corruption police are the investigating authority in the case, while the allegations against the panchayat secretary will be subject to the legal process. The immediate procedural development reported by Dinamalar was Karthik’s production before court and remand in custody.
