Home guard caught taking Rs 20,000 bribe from retired cop

A home guard, attached to the home department in the Vidhana Soudha, was caught red-handed when he was taking a bribe of Rs 20,000 from a retired police inspector in a hotel on Tuesday afternoon.

A team headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police Anthony John under the supervision of Superintendent of Police Ashok K V nabbed Satheesha.

According to the police, the accused had demanded a bribe of Rs 20,000 bribe from police inspector P N Ganesh, who opted for voluntary retirement, to clear the pending medical reimbursement.

Satheesha had reportedly demanded the money on behalf of a staffer working in the secretariat of the home department. The Lokayukta police are going to question the officer and take further action.

Ganesh had opted for voluntary retirement from the service a few years ago.

In 2017, Ganesh had slipped into coma and the medical bill was around Rs 9 lakh. The government had approved Rs 2 lakh as reimbursement. To release this money, he was asked to pay a bribe of Rs 20,000.

He was deputy commandant in Home Guards at that time. After he was discharged from the hospital the same year, he submitted the bills. Since then, he has been running from pillar to post to get the amount released.

Ganesh didn't want to pay the bribe and approached the Lokayukta police. As per their instructions, he took the money and met Satheesha in Hotel Parag around 3.30 pm. When Satheesha took the bribe, the police nabbed him and seized the amount.