Agriculture department official caught red-handed while accepting bribe in Mangaluru
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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Ranchi: Temple guard bludgeoned to death during robbery attempt, 3 held
Ranchi (PTI): A 60-year-old security guard of a temple in Ranchi was bludgeoned to death with a stone during a robbery attempt, police said on Saturday.
The incident happened late on Thursday at the Jagannath Temple in the Dhurwa Smart City area, they said.
"Three persons were arrested on Friday for killing the security guard. They confessed to the crime and told police that the victim had identified them. Therefore, in fear of being caught, they killed him by attacking him with a stone on his head," SSP Rakesh Ranjan said.
"Thereafter, they took money from the donation box and fled the scene. Two of them have criminal antecedents," he added.
Ranjan said the investigators recovered Rs 3 lakh in cash that had been robbed, the stone with blood-stained marks, and the iron rod used to break open the lock of the donation box kept there.
An FIR in this regard was lodged at the Dhurwa police station, he said, adding that the accused were sent to judicial custody by a court.
