T’puram: VACB on Thursday arrested Puthoor village officer Abhilash Anand, 47, while allegedly accepting a 5,000 bribe from a complainant for effecting mutation of 52 cents in the names of the complainant and his siblings.According to vigilance officials, the complainant, a native of Puthoor, had submitted an application at the Puthoor village office in May seeking to transfer 52 cents of land owned by his parents to his and his siblings’ names as per a will. Village officials later inspected the property, and the complainant submitted the required documents for completing the mutation process.However, the newly appointed village officer allegedly contacted the complainant over the phone on Wednesday and asked him to show the property. The complainant then took the officer to the site in his car.While returning after the inspection, the officer allegedly demanded Rs 5,000 as a bribe to complete the mutation. He reportedly insisted that the amount be paid immediately.The complainant offered to transfer the money online, but the officer allegedly refused and asked him to come to the village office after 10am on Thursday. He also allegedly instructed the complainant to contact him over the phone before handing over the money.Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the Kollam Vigilance unit and informed the deputy superintendent of police. The arrest was made near Puthoor Mandapam Junction around 10.15am on Thursday as part of the Vigilance department’s ‘Project Zero’ operation. The Vigilance team caught Anand red-handed while allegedly accepting bribe from the complainant near Puthoor Mandapam Junction.
