Mangaluru (PTI): A deputy director of the agriculture department was caught red-handed by Lokayukta personnel while accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh.
Bharatamma, deputy director of agriculture, Mangaluru, had asked for the bribe in exchange for processing a bill concerning the funds allocated for acquiring saplings for plantation under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district.
The complainant, N P Paramesh, had been serving as a range forest officer (RFO) in the forest department on deputation to the watershed department of the agriculture department and he had retired from service on August 31.
There was an outstanding amount of Rs 50 lakh owed to nursery owners and contractors for the saplings they had provided.
The complainant had contacted Bharathamma on October 4 and requested her to settle the bill.
However, the official demanded a bribe amounting to 15 per cent of the total bill for its clearance. On October 20, the complainant revisited her to inquire about the bill, and at that point, she reduced the bribe amount to Rs 1 lakh. He later lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta, following which the official was arrested on Saturday.
Lokayukta superintendent of police C A Simon said here on Sunday that Bharathamma has been arrested and will be presented in court. The operation was executed under the supervision of Lokayukta SP, with the assistance of Deputy SP Kalavathi, B Chaluvaraju, inspector P Suresh Kumar and other personnel.
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Bajpe: Police have arrested a youth for allegedly posting derogatory and defamatory content against the Bajpe police on social media.
The arrested accused has been identified as Abhishek M. (23), a resident of Katipalla, Surathkal.
According to the police, Abhishek posted a photograph of Bajpe Nisarga Hotel on his Instagram account mr_a_titude_22, alleging that accused persons in a murder case under the jurisdiction of the Bajpe police station were being treated “like royalty” by the police and were being served beef meals from the hotel every day. In his post, he further accused the police of colluding with criminals and misusing their authority, stating that public trust in the police was being betrayed.
Following which, the Bajpe police registered a case and arrested the accused.
Police records reveal that Abhishek is already facing multiple criminal cases. A case of murder, attempt to murder, assault and robbery has been registered against him at the Surathkal police station. At the same time, a robbery case has also been registered at the Kaup police station.
After his arrest, Abhishek was handed over to the custody of the CEN police for further investigation. He was later produced before a court, police said.
