A 48-year-old village assistant at Kozhavoor village near Polur town in Tiruvannamalai was arrested on Tuesday by sleuths of Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) for demanding and taking a bribe of Rs 1,500 from a farmer to issue non-objection certificate (NOC) to enrol under Chief Minister’s Farmers Security Scheme for monthly allowance.
DVAC sources said that the complainant V. Narayanaswamy (63), a farmer in Kozhavoor village that comes under Chetpet taluk, was living with his family in the village. He also does farming in 1.5 acre of ancestral land in the same village. Two years ago in July 2023, his wife, N. Rani died due to illness. Subsequently, farmer Narayanaswamy decided to enrol himself under the scheme to avail monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 on natural death criteria for farmer families.
Accordingly, Murugan applied at the special camp Makkaludan Mudhalvar scheme that was organised by the block development office in October 2023 to enrol under the scheme. As there was no response for his application, Narayanaswamy visited Chetpet taluk office regularly. A few days ago, accused K. Rajendran, village assistant, spoke to the farmer over the phone and demanded Rs 1,500 to make his application eligible under seniority list to enrol under the scheme. The village assistant demanded the entire money as one payment to get his job done.
Unwilling to pay the bribe, Narayanaswamy lodged a complaint with the DVAC. A seven-member team led by S. Velmurugan, Deputy SP, DVAC (Tiruvannamalai), laid a trap and caught Rajendran red-handed. A case has been registered against him. Later, he was lodged at sub-jail in Chengam town. A probe is underway.
Published – February 05, 2025 12:23 am IST
