Four bribe-taking government officials, middleman caught ‘red-handed’ by ACB

Four government officials and a middleman were caught “red-handed” taking bribes on Tuesday, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) said.

The officials include an assistant revenue officer (ARO), a revenue inspector, an assistant executive engineer at Bescom and a head constable posted in Bescom’s vigilance cell. A sixth government official believed to be involved in the case is absconding.

The ARO, the revenue inspector and the middleman were arrested from the BBMP revenue office located in Konena Agrahara. The Bescom engineer and constable were arrested from the power utility agency’s vigilance office in Malleswaram.

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The first arrests were made following a complaint by a resident of Sun City Layout in JP Nagar. The complainant had applied online for an ‘A’ khata for a piece of land that he owns in Murugeshpalya. When he visited the ARO’s office in JB Nagar to check the status of his application, an ARO named Murthy allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 1.1 lakh besides the government fees of Rs 30,000.

The landowner complained to ACB officials who decided to lay a trap. On their instructions, when the complainant went to pay the bribe, ACB arrested Murthy, revenue inspector Mohammed Idris and a middleman named Srinivas. BBMP bill collector from ward number 113, one Anand, is also believed to be involved in the bribery but has absconded.

The second case

The second set of arrests was made at Bescom’s vigilance office in Malleswaram. The arrested suspects are assistant executive engineer Nagesh and head constable Rajesh.

They are accused of taking a Rs 50,000 bribe from a resident of Amruthahalli who had applied for an electricity connection to his sister’s residence in Bhuvaneshwari Nagar. The house is located under a high-tension wire and was given a temporary connection that ended in September 2021.

The house owner drew power illegally. Bescom issued her a notice and disconnected the supply. When the complainant visited the vigilance office to sort out the issue, officials demanded the bribe to not book his sister and reduce the penalty.

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