In a trap laid for a Tahsildar in connection with a complaint of demand for bribe money, an Assistant, S. Chellappa (45), at the Tirumangalam Taluk Office was caught red-handed while accepting the money on Monday.
While Chellappa has been arrested and remanded in judicial custody, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption sleuths, have cited the Tahsildar, Balasubramanian, as the first accused. However, he was not arrested. Vigilance sources said that the Assistant had demanded Rs. 5,000 bribe, allegedly as per the direction of the Tahsildar, from a building contactor, S.P. Saravanan, for processing his application seeking a solvency certificate.
Based on the complaint, the vigilance Deputy Superintendent of Police, K. Esakkianandan, and two Inspectors of Police, K. Kumaraguru and A. Kannan, laid the trap at the Taluk office around 1 p.m.
While the money was offered to the Tahsildar, he had reportedly directed it to be handed over to the Assistant, sources said.
