Revenue inspector, constable arrested for taking bribe

BENGALURU: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths on Thursday arrested a revenue inspector and a head constable red-handed, while they were accepting a bribe from a landowner to settle a land dispute. Police Inspector Yeshwanth of Chikkajala police station, who also allegedly took bribes, is absconding and a special team has been formed to trace him, ACB officials said.

The arrested Revenue Inspector, H Putta Hanumaiah alias Praveen, is attached to Jala Hobli in North Taluk, while the head constable, Raju, is with Chikkajala police station. ACB sleuths said that they received a complaint from the landowner that he had purchased five acres of land in Shettigere village in Jala Hobli from Syed Baba Jaan in 2018.

He had agreed to pay Rs 2.8 crore and had given Rs 15 lakh in two instalments as advance. But later, Jaan had another sale agreement executed with another person. The complainant approached the court for an injunction order, which was granted. He then filed an application at the tahsildar’s office to get land registration documents -- podi, mutation and pouthi khata.

To give these documents, Hanumaiah allegedly demanded Rs 50 lakh bribe. The landowner, meanwhile, also met Yeshwanth and Raju to seek protection to put up a board on the land.  Raju negotiated for a Rs 10 lakh bribe. The landowner handed over Rs 4 lakh to Yeshwant, and before giving the rest, he approached ACB. The sleuths laid a trap and as the landowner was handing over the money near the police station, they caught Raju. Yeshwanth, however, escaped. Hanumaiah was arrested for accepting Rs 5 lakh bribe near Seshadripuram. A senior police officer said, “We are waiting for an ACB report to take action against Yeshwanth.”