A 68-year-old man has been arrested for impersonating a Lokayukta inspector and attempting to extort money from a government official.
Vidhana Soudha police said the suspect, Thyagaraj, a resident of Pattegarapalya in Vijayanagar, was addicted to betting on horse racing.
An Assistant Executive Engineer of the Upper Bhadra project, KB Ramadasappa, filed a police complaint, alleging he received multiple calls from an unknown number, with the caller claiming to be a Lokayukta inspector. He told police that the person tried to extort money from him.
Acting on the complaint, police traced Thyagaraj the same day (October 4) and
arrested him.
Ramadasappa claimed that he received a call on July 4 from an unknown number. The person on the call introduced himself as a Lokayukta inspector and said there was an allegation against him. The caller claimed that it had to be settled with higher authorities, otherwise, he would be in trouble. However, Ramadasappa ignored the call.
Ramadasappa received a call again on October 27 from the same person and said that he would hand over the call to his ADGP. The same person changed his voice and asked Ramadasappa to meet the inspector to junk the case.
After the second call, Ramadasappa, who was on Infantry Road at the time, filed a complaint with the police.
An FIR was filed under IPC sections 170 (personating a public servant), 384 (punishment for extortion), and 419 (cheating by personation). An investigating officer told DH that Thyagaraj was a habitual offender and had made impersonation calls in the past, too.
“The suspect said that he was booked earlier in Kolar for a similar case. Preliminary inquiries revealed that he is a betting addict. To gamble, he tried to extort money,” the officer said. The suspect was produced before a court and has been sent to judicial custody.
Published 08 November 2023, 22:00 IST