Officials of the Anti-Corruption Bureau on Wednesday raided the office of Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board on Race Course Road and arrested seven people, including middlemen, who were allegedly extorting 10% commission from farmers who had been promised compensation by the government for acquiring land for Sompura Industrial development.

According to the officials, the State government had acquired 800 aces of land in and around Sompura from farmers and had released compensation of ₹50 crore. “However, officials and middlemen were demanding 10% commission from beneficiaries in the form of cheques and RTGS,” said a senior ACB official.

Based on a tip-off, a team led by Superintendent of Police Jinendra Khanagavi raided the office. They recovered cash amounting to ₹12.9 lakh, several cheques issued by some farmers, 13 blank cheques, and documents related to land acquisition.

The accused were taken into custody and booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.