'From BBMP to police': Grieving father's post triggers outrage over widespread corruption in Bengaluru

The retired executive said he was forced to pay bribes at every stage, for an ambulance, filing an FIR, at cremation and also for the death certificate, after his daughter passed away last month

A grieving father, Sivakumar K, retired chief financial officer of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), in a now-deleted LinkedIn post, alleged he was forced to pay bribes at every stage, for an ambulance, filing an FIR, at cremation and also for the death certificate, after his daughter passed away.

Sivakumar lost his 34-year-old daughter to a brain haemorrhage in September.

In the post, Sivakumar said, “Recently, my only child passed away at age 34. The amount of open bribe being asked by ambulance, police for FIR and post-mortem report, crematorium for giving receipt, BBMP office for death certificate. I paid."

He also said that an "inspector at the Bellandur police station was so rude, with no empathy for a father who lost his only child."

Terming it a "sad" state of affairs, Sivakumar said he paid the bribes because he could afford to, but wondered what the poor would do in such a situation.

As the post triggered widespread outrage over corruption in the city, two police personnel, including a police sub-inspector, attached to the Bellandur Police Station in Bengaluru, have been suspended.

In a post on X, @peeleraja said Sivakumar's post was making him especially angry and helpless.

"I knew Akshaya personally. Her offbeat humor, her geeky love for quizzing and her affable manner endeared her to anyone who met her. Thousands more, who may have never met her, got to experience all of this via her quiz questions called #akshayaasks," he wrote.

"Watching Mr Sivakumar's helpless posts about having to bribe various taxpayer-funded officials makes many of us feel angry. Yet, there are a million Akshayas passing on, and a million grieving Sivakumars stuck dealing with a corrupt and morally bankrupt society. Is there a cure to this malaise, or are we doomed to bribe our way through life and death?" he wondered.

Singer Chinmayi Sripaada said on X, "Heartbreaking what he is going through. But this has always been the normal here. Not paying bribes is the rarity. Even in death."

On Thursday, the Deputy Commissioner of Whitefield said, “In connection with the incident mentioned in Sivakumar’s tweet, one PSI and one police constable of Bellandur Police Station have been immediately suspended.

"The Police Department will not tolerate any such indecent or inappropriate behaviour under any circumstances.” DCP Whitefield said in post on X.