Lokayukta sleuths made a complete botch of their attempt to trap a Vijayanagar traffic police sub-inspector red-handed while allegedly accepting bribe here late on Monday night.

The sleuths though have filed a charge sheet against the sub-inspector, Om Prakash.

The Lokayukta received a complaint from one Suresh of Kembattahalli that he was involved in a hit-and-run case in Vijaynagar police station limits when he was driving a car on October 3. The complainant claimed that the sub-inspector was demanding Rs 7,000 as bribe not to arrest him.

On receiving the complaint, the Lokayukta sleuths handed over to the complainant Rs 7,000 in marked currency notes to be given to the SI as bribe. Everything went according to the plan and the complainant inserted the bribe money into the SI’s jacket. The Lokayukta officials swooped down on the official immediately but were shocked to find only Rs 3,000 in the SI's pocket.

Interestingly, the Lokayukta sleuths were acting after filing an FIR in the court. The FIR says that the SI was accepting Rs 7,000 as bribe, but in the mahajar report the bribe money has been put at Rs 3,000.

“The SI demanded Rs 7000 to help a hit-and-run case driver and he was trapped while accepting the bribe,” a Lokayukta press release later said. It claimed that the SI had received an advance of Rs 3,000 when the sleuths trapped him.

More shocking details spilled over after the SI was trapped. The complainant was arrested in the hit-and-run case and released in the first week of October itself though his complaint later claimed that the SI was demanding the bribe not to arrest him.  The SI has been  released on bail.

Tiger skins seized

Police have arrested two people for allegedly trying to sell tiger  skins at Anekal.   Mane alias Raju(21) and Shamanna alias Shankar from Angadi village in Hassan district were trying to sell the hide to local people at Indlavadi cross.  They had agreed to sell them for Rs 1.3 lakh.