Sringeri taluk sub-registrar H.S. Cheluvaraj has filed a complaint with the police alleging that Revenue Minister R. Ashok’s personal assistant demanded money from him.
It is alleged that during the Minister’s official visit to Sringeri on Sunday, his personal assistant asked the sub-registrar to meet him and demanded money. The police have registered a non-cognisable report.
Mr. Cheluvaraju told The Hindu that a person, who introduced himself as Gangadhar, personal assistant to the Minister, had called him on Sunday morning to inform him that the Revenue Minister would be visiting Sringeri later that day. He also asked him to meet the Minister. The Minister was scheduled to attend a programme at Adichunchanagiri Samudaya Bhavan in the evening.
“When I went to meet the Minister, Gangadhar took me to a room and asked for money. I told straight to his face that I did not have the habit of either taking or giving bribe,” he said. Following this, the PA allegedly threatened him with dire consequences.
“I was carrying a copy of a letter I had written to the Chief Secretary on an administrative issue. I believed that the Minister had called me to discuss the letter. However, I was shocked when the Minister’s PA asked for money. He was upset with me when I did not give him any money. He did not even take the letter to the Chief Secretary from me,” he said.
However, Gangadhar later allegedly called Mr. Cheluvaraju over phone to say that he was only asking for the document he was carrying and not money. The sub-registrar has also submitted an audio file of the conversation he had with the accused. “It was clear he was expecting money from me. I told him I was not like the other sub-registrars who take bribes,” said Mr. Cheluvaraju.
Despite repeated efforts from The Hindu, the Minister was not available for comment.
