Grama Paripalana officer caught red-handed while accepting bribe in Kothagudem

A grama paripalana officer in Kothagudem district was caught by the ACB while accepting Rs.15,000 as a bribe for issuing a pattadar passbook. The accused, a former VRO, allegedly demanded money at the behest of higher officials.

Kothagudem: A grama paripalana officer (GPO), appointed from the pool of former Village Revenue Officers (VROs) and Village Revenue Assistants (VRAs), was caught red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Mulkalapalli mandal on Monday while accepting a bribe.

The accused, Banavath Srinivas Naik, GPO of Pusugudem revenue cluster, had allegedly demanded Rs.60,000 from a complainant for registering and issuing a pattadar passbook for 2.30 acres of agricultural land in survey number 254/AA of Vemukunta village.

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According to ACB officials, the complainant had earlier paid Rs.30,000 through PhonePe and Rs.10,000 in cash on the day of registration. Srinivas Naik then demanded the remaining Rs.20,000 and agreed to accept Rs.15,000. The ACB officials laid a trap and apprehended him while accepting the bribe at the tahsildar office.

ACB Khammam Range DSP Y Ramesh said the accused was believed to have demanded the bribe at the behest of higher officials, adding that an inquiry was underway to verify the involvement of others. The accused would be produced before the special judge for ACB and SPE cases in Warangal.

It may be recalled that the previous government had scrapped the VRO/VRA system following corruption allegations and had accommodated the officials in other departments. However, the Congress government revived the system by designating the former VROs/VRAs as GPOs.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy handed over appointment orders to the GPOs in September. Monday’s ACB trap is said to be the first instance in the State where a GPO has been caught red-handed while accepting a bribe.