Karnataka IPS officer caught taking bribe

A senior IPS officer posted as Superintendent of Police in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar district was caught red-handed while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a sand miner.

Additional Director General of Police (Lokayukta) R K Datta told reporters in Bangalore that Superintendent of Chamarajanagar district police Srikantappa was arrested after he demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs 50,000 from sand miner S M Farooq for closing a case registered against him and allowing him to continue with sand mining.

The arrest of the senior IPS officer, the first such arrest in a corruption case in Karnataka, came about after Farooq approached the Lokayukta – the provincial ombudsman – with complaints of harassment and demands for bribe by the Superintendent of Chamarajanagar police.

As par the trap laid by the Lokayukta, Farooq sent the money through his manager Akbar, who went to Srikantappa’s house along with Subbanna, the IPS officer’s associate and middleman in the deal. Subbanna took the money to the first floor of the house, where Srikantappa was present and handed it over to him.

Soon after Akbar came out of the house, the sleuths attached to Lokayukta entered the house and frisked Srikantappa. “The officer, who was dressed in a vest and dhoti was trying to tuck the currency notes in his vest when the Lokayukta sleuths entered the house”, Lokayukta Santosh Hegde said.

The Superintendent of Police was immediately arrested and produced before the court. “The Rs 500 denomination notes had been treated with phenolphthalein powder and the chemical on the currency notes lefts its mark on the IPS officer’s clothes and hands. We have booked him under Prevention of Corruption Act”, Hegde said.

Soon after the arrest, the IPS officer complained of uneasiness and variation on blood pressure. He was admitted to a private hospital. But, the Lokayukta sleuths claim that the officer was feigning illness only to avoid arrest. “He will get himself discharged from the hospital after he gets bail”, he said.

Hegde said Farooq was embroiled in the affair as he had a dispute with a local forest officer over transportation of his sand-laden trucks. The sand miner had lodged a complaint of harassment and assault against the forest official, who had lodged a counter complaint accusing Farooq of obstructing him from discharging his duty.

The local Deputy Superintendent of Police, who investigated the case, found no substance in the forest official’s complaint and proceeded to close the case. But, the Superintendent of Police, who got wind of the matter, reportedly sent word to his sub ordinate asking him not to close the case till he gives the green signal.

Meanwhile, Srikantappa summoned Farooq and demanded a bribe of Rs 25,000 to close the case and another Rs 25,000 to let the sand miner continue his business undisturbed for one month.