Corporator, 2 engineers held for taking bribe from contractor

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials on Friday arrested a corporator and two engineers of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on charges of graft. The accused corporator, Krishnamurthy, and assistant engineer Krishna were arrested red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 15 lakh from a contractor. The ACB sleuths later arrested assistant executive engineer Arun Kumar for demanding the bribe.

Police said that the complainant is a civil contractor and had taken up the work of renovation of RTO office in Rajajinagar. The work was completed and a bill of Rs 2.74 crore was pending for clearance since last one-and-a-half years. The contractor had approached BBMP officials Krishna, Arun Kumar and also the corporator Krishnamurthy. The corporator and the two engineers demanded a bribe of Rs 38.5 lakh to release the bill. After negotiations, they scaled down the demand to Rs 15 lakh.

“It was decided that the corporator would get Rs 10 lakh and the two engineers would divide between themselves the remaining Rs 5 lakh. Based on the complaint, a trap was laid. The corporator asked the contractor to pay the bribe at the corporator’s house in Kurubarahalli,” an official said.

The complainant, along with the team of the ACB, visited the corporator’s house at around 10 am. At the time of trap, Krishnamurthy and Krishna were arrested red-handed while accepting the bribe of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively. The other engineer was arrested later,” the official said. Relatives and supporters of the corporator created a scene outside the house protesting against police action. They staged a protest demanding not to arrest the corporator. Sources said that the police had to secure the corporator’s sister who was hurling abuses at the police. She was released later after the accused were frisked away.