Chennai, Feb 11 (IANS) A survey inspector attached to the Revenue Department in Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram was arrested by the District Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) wing for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe from a farmer in connection with land acquisition for the proposed Parandur Greenfield Airport project, an official said on Wednesday.
The accused, Sundara Vadivelu, 50, a resident of Tirukalimedu in Kancheepuram, was part of a joint verification team tasked with scrutinising land documents and processing compensation claims for property owners affected by the airport project.
The ambitious airport is proposed to come up across nearly 4,800 acres spanning 15 villages, including Parandur and Ekanapuram, where land acquisition proceedings are currently in progress.
According to DVAC officials, the complainant, Ranjith Kumar, a farmer from Kullappan Street in Kancheepuram district, had voluntarily offered 64 cents of his land for the project and submitted a petition seeking compensation from the government.
During document verification in Parandur ‘A’ Area 4, the survey inspector allegedly demanded Rs 1 lakh to clear the file and facilitate the release of compensation.
Unwilling to pay the bribe, the farmer approached the DVAC and lodged a formal complaint with Deputy Superintendent of Police Kalaiselvan.
Acting on the complaint, vigilance officials advised the farmer to agree to pay Rs 50,000 as an advance and assure the official that the remaining amount would be paid after the compensation process was completed.
Following standard procedure, the vigilance team treated the currency notes with chemical powder and arranged a trap.
Around 10 p.m. on Tuesday, when the farmer handed over Rs 50,000 to the inspector at the Chengazhu Neeroda area in Kancheepuram, officers who had been monitoring the exchange moved in and caught the official red-handed.
The accused was subsequently taken to the DVAC office in the Velligate area for further interrogation. A case has been registered against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and he has been sent to judicial custody.
Officials said further investigations are underway to determine whether similar bribe demands were made to other farmers whose lands are being acquired for the proposed airport project.
–IANS
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