The arrest of a tahsildar and two alleged middlemen in a ₹10 lakh bribe case by the Ernakulam unit of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) in Kerala has exposed a nexus between officials and agents who threaten property owners with action over alleged violations.

Kanayannur tahsildar (land records) Jose Antony Hartis, 52, and two alleged agents, Rajesh N.S., 49, of Kadavanthra, and Jose Shibyin, 44, of Vyttila, were arrested by the VACB on Thursday for allegedly demanding ₹10 lakh from a native of Kaloor for settling a complaint against his property and facilitating its conversion from ‘nilam’ (paddy land) in revenue records. The alleged agents were allegedly caught accepting ₹2 lakh in cash and ₹8 lakh through a cheque, while the tahsildar was subsequently arrested in the operation.

VACB sources said the role of more revenue officials in the case was being probed. The modus operandi of the alleged network is to detect violations by people who submit various applications in the office, file complaints against them and settle them by accepting bribes, a senior VACB official said.

The Kaloor native became a target of the network after they detected an anomaly in the records pertaining to a 1.4-acre property at Elamakkara which was transferred to his name through succession. Though the family had been paying land tax on the property since 2018, the Elamakkara South Village Office informed him that it was recorded as ‘nilam’ in revenue records. The complainant had brought soil to the property to level it for constructing a house.

In June, Shibyin, a driver, lodged a complaint at the village office alleging that the complainant was filling the land with soil. Following the complaint, Mr. Hartis contacted the complainant and allegedly threatened him with the consequences of the complaint against him. Though he offered to remove the soil and pay any fine imposed, the tahsildar allegedly told him to meet Shibyin, settle the complaint and subsequently apply for land conversion. He allegedly assured the complainant that he would take care of the necessary procedures at the village and taluk levels.

Shibyin, along with another agent Rajesh, allegedly demanded ₹10 lakh, including ₹5 lakh for revenue officials, to settle the complaint.

The tahsildar allegedly spoke to the complainant over the phone and instructed him to pay the amount as demanded by the agents.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, the Kaloor man approached the VACB which subsequently laid a trap.

Published - August 14, 2026 12:30 pm IST