IPS officer caught taking bribe

In the first of its kind in Karnataka, the Lok Ayukta sleuths arrested an IPS officer while accepting a Rs 50,000 bribe from a sand miner in Chamarajnagar district on Thursday. The arrested officer is Srikantappa, superintendent of police, Chamarajnagar district.

Briefing the media, Lok Ayukta Justice Santosh N Hegde said: "In the past, cases have been booked against IPS officers for possessing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income. But this is the first time we have caught red-handed an IPS officer while receiving bribe."

Srikantappa had come under the Lok Ayukta scanner after trying to take advantage of a fight between a sand miner, Farukh, and a forester in Chamarajnagar.

The fight between Farukh and the forester started last fortnight over the issue of sand lifting. While the forester had accused him of lifting sand illegally, the latter maintained he was in possession of a valid permit.

Farukh had lodged a complaint with the Chamarajnagar East police charging the forester with harassing him. The forester too had lodged a counter compliant charging Farukh with preventing him from discharging official duty. The local police, who investigated both complaints, found no evidence in the forester's complaint and decided to drop it.

It was at this juncture that Srikantappa intervened and ordered his sub-ordinates not to act on the issue. When Farukh approached Srikantappa, he was asked to pay Rs 50,000 as bribe to decide the case in his favour.

A helpless Farukh approached the Lok Ayukta sleuths and a trap was laid. Srikantappa was arrested from his residence along with a tout after he received the bribe from Farukh's manager Akbar. The two have been remanded to judicial custody. Investigation is on.