T’puram: Vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (VACB) on Friday arrested a village assistant attached to the Muttathara village office after allegedly catching him accepting a Rs 5,000 bribe from a resident to expedite the processing of a land conversion application.The accused was identified as Asarudeen, 37, of Nettachira near Nedumangad.According to VACB, the complainant, a resident of Vallakkadavu, and his wife own a three-cent plot in Muttathara village where they planned to construct a new house. Since the property was recorded as paddy land in the records, they had submitted an online application seeking conversion of the land into dry land.After checking the online status of the application, the complainant found that it was pending with the Muttathara village office. He visited the office on July 25 and met Asarudeen, who allegedly asked him to return on another day.When the complainant revisited the office on Thursday, Asarudeen accompanied him to inspect the property. During the inspection, the official allegedly told him that the application would take time to be processed and demanded a bribe if he wanted the proceedings to be completed quickly.Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the deputy superintendent of police, VACB and lodged a complaint.Based on the complaint, vigilance officials laid a trap at the village office. Around 5.10pm on Friday, Asarudeen was allegedly caught while accepting the tainted currency from the complainant inside the office.The accused will be produced before Vigilance Court in Thiruvananthapuram.
