THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A panchayat secretary was arrested while accepting bribe here. The arrested has been identifed as Gopakumar, secretary of Vellanadu panchayat. He was caught by the vigilance while accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a LIFE Mission applicant.

Gopakumar demanded the bribe for the construction works of a house under the LIFE Mission project. The vigilance caught him red-handed while accepting bribes to move sand for house construction.

Meanwhile, an MVI was arrested while taking a bribe in Thrissur last week. CS George, the said MVI of Thriprayar, was caught by the vigilance. He was arrested for accepting a bribe to allow a pollution testing station. An agent named Ashraf, who was assigned to take the bribe, has also been arrested.