Kasaragod: The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Saturday arrested an agent for allegedly accepting a bribe on behalf of survey officials to rectify land records following errors in a re-survey in Kasaragod district, officials said.

The accused, identified as Hashim PH, a native of Uduma, was caught red-handed while accepting Rs 15,000 at the Kanhangad Mini Civil Station compound.

According to VACB officials, the complainant, a resident of Periya, owns 2.40 acres of land, which was incorrectly recorded as 1.89 acres during a re-survey. About six months ago, the complainant approached the Kanhangad taluk survey office seeking correction of the discrepancy.

Hashim, who operates outside the survey office and prepares applications for the public, allegedly drafted the complaint on the landowner’s behalf. Although survey officials later conducted a site inspection, no corrective action was taken even after several months.

When the complainant followed up at the survey office, Hashim allegedly told him that merely filing a complaint would not resolve the issue and that money would have to be paid to officials to expedite the correction.

VACB officials said Hashim initially demanded Rs 30,000, claiming he had strong connections with survey officials and had facilitated similar corrections earlier through bribes. After the complainant expressed his inability to pay the full amount, the demand was allegedly reduced to Rs 20,000.

Hashim is accused of collecting Rs 5,000 earlier through Google Pay and instructing the complainant to hand over the remaining Rs 15,000 in person on December 27.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the Deputy Superintendent of Police at the Kasaragod VACB, following which a trap was laid. Hashim was arrested while allegedly accepting the cash on Saturday evening.

The accused will be produced before the court on Sunday. VACB officials said they are also probing the alleged involvement of survey officials in the case.