After complaints of corruption, DVAC raids Udumalpet sub-registrar office, seizes Rs 59,000

 TNN | Nov 17, 2017, 08:46 IST


TIRUPUR: Following persistent complaints of corruption, sleuths from the district unit of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) raided the Udumalpet sub-registrar office and seized Rs 59000 unaccounted cash on Wednesday. Sub-registrar Vasundra Devi and head clerk Gowri have been booked on corruption charges. An inquiry is on.

"Like many sub-registrar offices, the Udumalpet office too was seriously afflicted with corruption. In registering the documents, the authorities were giving priority to those which fetch them bribes," said S Sivasankar, a document writer who works near the office.

Many people would have registered their properties by showing rates lower than the government guideline value. Such documents would come under 47 A (3) of the Registration Act and the properties should not be allowed for title transfer. But the authorities were illegally allowing sale of such properties.

Moreover, while the state government had directed the registration department to adopt online application system in order to improve transparency, the authorities here were causing needless delay in accepting the online applications, to get illegal gratification. The situation never improved despite various representations, said Sivasankar.

N Ravichandran, Tirupur deputy superintendent of DVAC, told TOI: "We received complaints that the authorities in the Udumalpet sub-registrar office were demanding bribes for services like registering the documents, providing encumbrance certificates, and also while returning the registered documents. So we conducted the raid for four and a half hours last night."

The DVAC seized Rs59000 from various points in the office as the authorities could not provide proper accounts for it. The sleuths also took away many documents which had come for registration on Wednesday for further investigation, said a source.

Though an FIR was registered against sub-registrar Vasundra Devi and head clerk Gowri, they will be arrested only after the charges are verified.