Karnataka Lokayukta officials arrested two police officers in separate bribery cases, catching a Tumakuru PSI and a Bengaluru inspector red-handed while accepting bribes. Both have been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act
Karnataka police officers held for taking bribes in Tumakuru and Bengaluru. Representational Pic
A Police Sub-Inspector, Chetan Kumar, attached to the Tumakuru Rural Police Station, was caught red-handed by Lokayukta officials while allegedly accepting a bribe to release a vehicle seized in a case, the Lokayukta said on Saturday.
The vehicle belonged to a Bengaluru-based advocate, and the PSI had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 5 lakh for its release. On Friday night, at around 11.30 pm, Chetan Kumar was trapped by Lokayukta officials while he was accepting Rs 40,000 as part of the bribe at the Namaste Tumakuru Hotel near Kyathsandra.
Following the trap, Lokayukta police interrogated the PSI and later produced him before a court. The accused officer has been booked under Section 7(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Nagesh S.K., a resident of Nagadevanahalli in Bengaluru, has filed a complaint in this regard.
According to the Lokayukta, the accused officer had received the bribe amount through an intermediary. The PSI has been taken into custody, and further investigation is underway.
A police inspector, posted at Bengaluru's K.P. Agrahara police station, was also caught red-handed by Karnataka Lokayukta officials on Friday while accepting a bribe of Rs 4 lakh to drop a person’s name from a chit fund fraud case.
The accused officer has been identified as Inspector Govindaraju. He was trapped while receiving the bribe amount at the CAR Grounds on Mysuru Road.
Lokayukta Superintendent of Police Shivaprakash Devaraj said on Friday that the inspector had earlier accepted Rs 1 lakh on January 24 out of the overall demand of a Rs 5 lakh bribe in connection with a case registered under the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act, 2019, at the police station.
"The accused inspector was caught red-handed while accepting money from the complainant, Akbar, near the Chamarajapete CAR Ground. The bribe was allegedly taken to drop the accused from the case," the SP said.
Govindaraju has been arrested under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act and sent to judicial custody.
Police sources said Inspector Govindaraju allegedly created a scene at the time of his arrest and turned aggressive during the trap operation. A video showing the Inspector creating a ruckus after being caught while accepting the bribe has surfaced.
The video shows Lokayukta officials taking him into custody despite his aggressive behaviour. At one point, as many as six Lokayukta officials were seen restraining the Inspector as he became violent. He was heard shouting and creating a dramatic scene.
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