J. Varalaxmi, Panchayat Secretary of Lingayipalli village in Jannaram mandal.
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday trapped a panchayat secretary from Mancherial district allegedly accepting a ₹13,000 bribe through UPI for granting permission to construct a house and allotting a house number to a newly constructed house.
J. Varalaxmi, Panchayat Secretary of Lingayipalli village in Jannaram mandal, was caught by the ACB’s Adilabad unit after she allegedly demanded ₹20,000 from the complainant in return for the official favour. Following negotiations, she agreed to accept ₹13,000.
According to the ACB, Ms. Varalaxmi did not accept the money in cash during the trap. Instead, she allegedly instructed the complainant to transfer the amount through UPI and provided a contact number of another panchayat secretary, Lavanya. The complainant subsequently transferred ₹13,000 to the account at Ms. Varalaxmi’s direction.
The ACB said the demand and subsequent instruction to make the payment through UPI were recorded and would form part of the evidence in the case.
Varalaxmi was taken into custody and arrested before being produced before the Special Judge for SPE and ACB Cases, Karimnagar. The case is under investigation. The ACB said details of the complainant were being withheld for security reasons. It appealed to the public to report demands for bribes by public servants on its toll-free number 1064.
Published – August 21, 2026 08:03 pm IST
