A 59-year-old Village Administrative Officer (VAO) in Vada Mambakkam village, that comes under Arakkonam panchayat union in Ranipet, was arrested by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Wednesday for demanding and taking a bribe of ₹15,000 from a farmer to issue patta.DVAC sources said that the complainant P. Vinoth, 46, does farming in 1.5 acre of ancestral land in Vada Mambakkam village. Vinoth applied for patta name change at the special camp Makkaludan Mudhalvar scheme, which was organised by the Block Development Office in 2026 as part of the State government’s efforts to enable faster and easy reach of government services to the public.Subsequently, VAO N. Thanikachalam, who was the suspect, inspected the land of the complainant. Initially, he demanded a sum of ₹20,000 to do the job. As Vinoth pleaded that he cannot pay such a huge amount, the VAO demanded ₹15,000 to get his job done. Unwilling to pay the bribe, Vinoth lodged a complaint with the DVAC. A seven-member team led by S. Ganesh, Deputy SP, DVAC (Ranipet), laid a trap and caught VAO red-handed. A case has been registered against him. Later, the VAO was lodged at Central Prison in Vellore. A probe is under way. Published - May 21, 2026 05:30 am IST