VACB arrests village officer on charge of accepting bribe

A special squad of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Saturday arrested the Olavanna village officer who was accused of taking bribes for illegal conversion of 1.62 acres of land for business purposes. The accused is Ullasmon, a native of Kothamangalam in Ernakulam. VACB sources said the official was nabbed with ₹50,000, which he had allegedly accepted as the first instalment from the land owner. In the preliminary investigation, the squad found that the official had reportedly sought ₹8 lakh for the land conversion process.