Kozhikode: The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Saturday arrested Ullas Mon KR, village officer of Olavanna here, after he was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹50,000. According to officials, he demanded the amount as the first instalment of an ₹8 lakh bribe to complete the procedures for land conversion.

The arrest followed a complaint by a Chevarambalam native who approached VACB after Ullas allegedly demanded a total of ₹16,20,000 to process the conversion of 1.62 acres of his land. The village officer reportedly told the applicant that his property had legal issues since the land document was mortgaged and demanded money to “ignore” the issue. When the applicant said he could not arrange such a huge amount, Ullas allegedly reduced the demand to ₹8 lakh and asked for ₹50,000 upfront.

As per directions from the vigilance team, the complainant met Ullas near the NGO Quarters at Vellimadukunnu here on Saturday evening. VACB officials surrounded the officer as soon as he accepted the amount and took him into custody.

This is the third successful trap by the VACB within a week.

On November 28, a village assistant in Ernakulam, Jibi Mathew M, was arrested for accepting a ₹5,000 bribe to settle land tax and complete pokkuvaravu  (updating ownership of property) procedures.

On November 26, Devaswom Board employee Sreenivasan was arrested for allegedly taking ₹5,000 as illegal gratification from devotees for offerings at Kunnathoor Sree Durga Devi Temple in Alappuzha. He is the receiver of the temple and the sub-group officer of Thrikkuratti Mahadeva Temple.

With these cases, the VACB has recorded 52 trap cases in 2025, arresting 70 individuals, including officials and intermediaries.

The VACB Director urged the public to report corruption through the toll-free number 1064 or via 85929 00900 / 94477 89100 (WhatsApp).