Trichy: The directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption (DVAC) arrested a panchayat secretary in Trichy on Tuesday for demanding a bribe of Rs15,000 from an individual to fix the property tax for a newly built house.The arrested official has been identified as K C Mariappan, who works as the secretary of Panayakurichi village panchayat under the Thiruverumbur union in Trichy district.The complainant, Karthikeyan from Panayakurichi, approached the secretary on behalf of his brother-in-law Arun Kumar to get the property tax assessed for their newly constructed house in the village.Mariappan reportedly asked for Rs25,000 as a bribe to complete the task. Following negotiations, he agreed to lower the amount to Rs15,000. Unwilling to pay the bribe, Karthikeyan filed a complaint with the DVAC unit in Trichy on Tuesday.Acting on the instructions of DSP G Manikandan, a DVAC team handed over Rs15,000 in chemically treated currency notes to Karthikeyan and instructed him to hand them over to the official as demanded.On Tuesday, as soon as Mariappan accepted the bribe money from Karthikeyan, the vigilance team raided the office and apprehended him red-handed.Mariappan was arrested and a case was registered under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Further investigation is underway.