Village officer, assistant caught red-handed accepting bribe in Pathanamthitta

Village officer S Rajeev and Village assistant Jinu Thomas.

Kozhencherry: A Vigilance team on Wednesday arrested a village officer and an assistant officer working at the Cherukole village office in Pathanamthitta after they were caught red-handed accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 from a person who applied for their 'pokku varavu' certificate.

Another staff involved in the crime managed to flee from the place on seeing the Vigilance team.

Village officer S Rajeev, of Ambalapuzha, and Village assistant Jinu Thomas, of Kuttur, are the accused. Village field assistant Sudheer, of Mavelikara, is the employee who fled the scene.

It all began when Shaju John, of Vayalathala, submitted an application at the Village office for the completion of his 'pokku varavu' certificate for 1.62 acres of land.

For many days, the accused made Shaju run from one place to another in the name of issuing the certificate. Eventually, the officials demanded Rs 5,000 from him, following which he swiftly approached the Vigilance wing with a complaint.

The trap

Shaju reached the Village office at 11 am on Wednesday with currency notes soaked in phenolphthalein, as per the Vigilance team's direction. He then handed over the notes to the Village officer. While the officers were dividing the graft money, the Vigilance team entered the scene and took them into custody. Still, Sudheer managed to give the team the slip.

The accused were produced before the Vigilance Court on Thursday.

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