BBMP health inspectors take bribe for trade licence: TV sting

Six health inspectors of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) are in trouble after a Kannada news channel broadcast a sting operation on Thursday showing them taking bribe for issuing trade licence.

Bescom (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company) records show there are more than six lakh shops in the City, but just 50,000-odd are enrolled with the BBMP and the rest are evading trade licence fee. BTV, a Kannada news channel, ran a day-long programme, explaining this anomaly.

The sting was carried out in Bommanahalli, Jayanagar, Shanthinagar and Arekere. At Arekere, an officer named Ravindra allegedly demanded Rs 35,000, out of this Rs 5,000 was paid upfront, the channel claimed.

The health inspectors shown in the sting were identified as Munikrishnappa and Diwakar, Ramachandra from Jayanagar, Annappa from Shanthinagar in East Zone and Gangadhara. A woman stenographer also appeared in the video and the channel claimed she is also involved. It said the officers were ready to take bribe, and struck deals with its decoy who approached them posing as a trader to obtain a licence.

Taking note of the sting operation, BBMP Commissioner G Kumar Naik referred the matter to the zonal commissioners and asked them to obtain the raw footage and take action against officers concerned after verifying the video and  veracity of the crime.