A 45-year-old president of Mel Sandakuppam village panchayat, falling under Madhanur panchayat union near Ambur town in Tirupattur, was arrested by sleuths of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) for demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹2 lakh for Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) land approval.
DVAC sources said that the complainant K. Srinivasan (48), a real estate agent, and his family had been living in Vaniyambadi town for many years. He owns seven acres of his ancestral land in Mel Sandakuppam village. Being a real estate agent, he decided to convert the unapproved open land into a DTCP-approved residential plots for sale.
Accordingly, Srinivasan met panchayat president B. Sivakumar at the panchayat office a few weeks ago and requested him to grant the panchayat council nod for securing DTCP approval for the land.
Srinivasan told DVAC officials that Sivakumar allegedly demanded a sum of ₹12 lakh for the purpose. Initially, he was reluctant to give a bribe. However, he managed to mobilise ₹10 lakh and gave it to Sivakumar recently. Subsequently, Srinivasan secured DTCP approval for the seven acres of land from the civic body.
A few days ago, Sivakumar insisted that Srinivasan pay the remaining amount as promised. Srinivasan pleaded that he was not left with any money Sivakumar was unrelenting in his demand. So, Srinivasan filed a complaint with the DVAC..
A seven-member team led by K. Raji, Deputy SP, DVAC (Tirupattur), laid a trap and caught panchayat president Sivakumar. A case has been registered against the panchayat president. Later, he was arrested and lodged at a sub-jail in Tirupattur town. Further investigation is under way.
Published – July 23, 2025 11:10 pm IST
