The Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau (VACB) recorded its third successful trap in as many days as officers arrested the Olavanna village officer in Kozhikode for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹50,000 on Saturday.
An assistant at the Vengoor West village in Ernakulam and a temple sub-group officer in Alappuzha were arrested for collecting bribes of ₹5,000 each during the last few days.
The back-to-back arrests mark 52 trap cases recorded by VACB thus far this year, of which an alarming 70% of the accused are government employees. The highest numbers of cases pertain to the Revenue department (19 cases), Local Self-Government department (10 cases), Kerala Police (six cases), Excise department (three cases), and 11 in various other departments.
VACB director Manoj Abraham said the bureau has compiled a list of officials facing serious corruption allegations and placed them under close surveillance. He added that all Vigilance units have been directed to intensify their focus on bribery cases and strengthen mechanisms to prevent corruption.
In the latest development, the Olavanna village officer Ullas Raman N.K. was allegedly caught red-handed while collecting a bribe of ₹50,000 for completing a land conversion process. The revenue official demanded a bribe of ₹10,000 per cent from the complainant to undertake land conversion formalities for 1.62 acres of land.
When the complainant expressed inability to pay the large sum, the officer allegedly agreed to reduce the bribe to ₹8 lakh and insisted that at least ₹50,000 be paid upfront. Unable to comply and determined to expose the bribery demand, the complainant approached the Vigilance unit, which nabbed the village officer. The accused was later produced before the Kozhikode Vigilance Court.
Published – November 30, 2025 08:58 pm IST
