Watch Video | Bengaluru Police Inspector Caught Red-Handed by Lokayukta Accepting ₹4 Lakh Bribe, Ex-Excise Officer Sentenced, Crores Seized in DA Raids

The Karnataka Lokayukta police intensified their crackdown on corruption after a Bengaluru police inspector was caught red-handed while allegedly accepting a Rs 4 lakh bribe in a chit fund-related case. The dramatic trap, laid near Sirsi Circle, comes amid a broder anti-corruption push that has also seen a former Excise Deputy Commissioner Govindaraju, sentenced to prison in a disproportionate assets case and simultaneously raids uncovering crores worth of assets linked to serving officials across the state. 

How Lokayukta Arrested Inspector? 

The Karnataka Lokayukta police on Thursday carried out simultaneous searches at more than five locations in connection with a disproportionate assets (DA) case against Tejas Kumar N., an Assistant Commissioner who was recently transferred to the Shivamogga Forest Department and is yet to assume charge.

Lokayukta officials said the searches indicated that the officer had allegedly accumulated assets far exceeding his known sources of income. During the operation, investigators detected movable and immovable properties worth ₹26.55 crore.

The immovable assets reportedly include four plots, eight houses and 14 acres of agricultural land, together valued at ₹25.63 crore. Movable assets seized during the searches include ₹50,000 in cash and vehicles worth ₹92 lakh.

A disproportionate assets case has been registered against the accused at the Lokayukta Police Station, Bengaluru City, and further investigation is underway to trace the source of the assets and identify any benami holdings.

Earlier, on Wednesday, Lokayukta police also trapped an inspector attached to the K.P. Agrahara police station while he was allegedly accepting a ₹4 lakh bribe in connection with a chit fund-related case.

Bengaluru Court Jails Ex-Excise Official for Corruption

In another corruption case, the 77th Additional City Civil and Sessions Court in Bengaluru has sentenced S. Srinivasa Murthy, former Deputy Commissioner of Excise in Chickballapur district, to three years of simple imprisonment in a disproportionate assets (DA) case.

The court also imposed a fine of ₹1.34 crore, with an additional one year of imprisonment in case of default. According to the Lokayukta police, Murthy was found to have accumulated assets far exceeding his known sources of income during the period between October 1978 and September 2014, in his name as well as in the names of his family members. A raid conducted in 2014 had uncovered illegal assets worth ₹1.22 crore.

Murthy was charged under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Delivering the verdict after a full-fledged trial, Judge Prakash Nayak held the former official guilty.