Araria, Dec. 24: A former block development officer (BDO), absconding for the past one year in connection with a fund anomaly case, was arrested from his Phulwarisharif residence last night.

Mohammad Firoz Nayeem, former BDO of Jokihaat block in Araria, was booked for allegedly extorting Rs 40 lakh from the beneficiaries of Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) in 2007. He had allegedly forced each beneficiary to pay Rs 10,000 for getting their share of IAY money.

A special team of district police, set up by Araria superintendent of police Shivdeep Lande, raided Nayeem’s residence after receiving a tip-off.

The same team also nabbed the village head of Gairkee panchayat under Jokihaat block, Mohammad Imran Sabir, from his Kankerbagh residence in Patna yesterday. The village head too was absconding for the past one year.