Taslima Mohammed was one of the two people arrested from the Mahabubabad sub-registrar’s office while accepting a bribe of ₹19,200.
Telangana’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested two people at the sub-registrar’s office in the Mahabubabad district for demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹19,200 for land registration work.
The arrested employees have been identified as Sub-Registrar Taslima Mohammed and Data Entry Operator (outsourced) Aleti Venkatesh.
Taslima hit the headlines late last year after a video — showing her refusing to take “zero tickets” and instead asking to pay for them — went viral on social media platforms.
The Warangal Unit of the ACB said in a release that the officers were caught red-handed while accepting the bribe amount on the evening of Friday, 22 March.
The action was initiated based on a complaint from businessman Gudagani Harish, a resident of Danthalapally in the district.
Taslima and Venkatesh allegedly demanded the bribe amount for doing official favours — to process the work of registration of land purchased by the complainant in the village.
The ACB also seized unaccounted-for cash worth ₹1.72 lakh from the possession of the officers, and confirmed that the duo performed their public duty improperly and dishonestly.
According to the ACB, Taslima and Venkatesh were arrested and produced before the Special Court for SPE and ACB Cases-Cum-III Additional District and Sessions Judge in Warangal.
The ACB also requested the public to contact the toll-free number 1064 to report any public servant demanding bribes.
As news of the ACB arresting Taslima Mohammed spread, people shared the viral video that showed her denying a zero ticket under the Mahalakshmi scheme.
While speaking with South First days after her video initially went viral, Taslima had said, “Women who are financially well and can afford the travel at cost should purchase their tickets on Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) buses, even though they are eligible for the zero-ticket option under the Mahalakshmi scheme.”
In the viral video, Taslima Mohammed was also seen asking if she could pay for a ticket on an RTC bus.
The conductor, however, informed her that money could not be taken from a woman traveller as they had strict instructions to give zero tickets to all women from Telangana travelling on TSRTC buses.
Taslima has been active on X (formerly Twitter) for quite some time.
Among the content she shares on the platform are details and clips of her interest in working as a farm labourer on weekends to support underprivileged families with the money she earns on those days.
She has also shared how she accompanied tribal activist Dansari Anusuya, alias Seethakka — currently a minister in the Telangana Cabinet — to the interiors of forests in the Mulugu district during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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