Bengaluru inspector caught red-handed taking Rs 4 lakh bribe

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Jan 31, 2026: The Karnataka Lokayukta police on Wednesday trapped a police inspector attached to the KP Agrahara police station while he was allegedly accepting a ₹4 lakh bribe in connection with a chit fund-related cheating case.

The accused, identified as Govindaraju, allegedly demanded money from a complainant, threatening to falsely implicate him in the case if the bribe was not paid. Acting on the complaint, Lokayukta officials laid a trap and caught the inspector red-handed near the CAR Ground at Sirsi Circle, officials said.

He has been arrested and booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act, with further investigation underway to determine whether other officials were involved.

Former excise official sentenced in DA case

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

The court also imposed a fine of ₹1.34 crore; failing to pay this, Murthy will have to undergo an additionalyear of imprisonment. The Lokayukta police stated that Murthy was found to own assets far exceeding his known sources of income during the check period from October 1978 to September 2014. A raid conducted in 2014 had revealed illegal assets worth ₹1.22 crore. Judge Prakash Nayak pronounced the verdict after a full-fledged trial.

Searches against assistant commissioner

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Lokayukta police conducted simultaneous searches at more than five locations linked to Tejas Kumar N., an Assistant Commissioner recently transferred to the Shivamogga Forest Department.

Officials said the searches revealed assets worth ₹26.55 crore, allegedly disproportionate to his known sources of income. These include four sites, eight houses and 14 acres of agricultural land valued at ₹25.63 crore, along with movable assets such as ₹50,000 in cash and vehicles worth ₹92 lakh.

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