In a well-laid trap, Lokayukta sleuths of the Ballari Division of Karnataka Lokayukta have caught a government servant attached to Regional Transport Office (RTO) and a middleman red-handed when they were accepting a bribe.
As per the information provided by M.N. Shashidhar, Superintendent of Police, Ballari Division of Lokayukta, the accused had demanded a bribe of ₹15,000 for issuing a clearance certificate to H. Umesh, a resident of Havambavi in Ballari city to complete the process of selling one of his seven buses.
“Mr. Umesh is the owner of seven buses in SKB Travels. He sold one bus (KA-07/B1177) to Wasiqur Rahman, a resident of Ajjampur in Chikkamagaluru district. When the seller approached the RTO office in Ballari, the RTO officers demanded a ₹15,000 bribe to issue a clearance certificate. Following a complaint by the seller, a case was registered in Lokayukta Police Station in Ballari under the Prevention of Corruption Act (as amended in 2018),” Mr. Shashidhar said in a statement on Friday.
Chandrakanth Gudimani, Superintendent attached to Ballari RTO, and Mohammad Raj, a private person who was arranged by the former to accept the bribe, were taken into custody when the latter was accepting the bribe of ₹15,000 from the complainant, Mr. Umesh, at a private bus stand in Ballari at about 10.30 p.m. on Thursday, Mr. Shashidhar added.
