Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal
Bantwal, Aug 15: Three accused, including Bantwal taluk office deputy tahsildar, who were arrested by the Lokayukta police for accepting bribes to clear a land inheritance (pauti) file approved by the district court, have been remanded to judicial custody till August 28.
The arrested are deputy tahsildar Rajesh Naik, case worker Santosh, and middleman Ganesh from Vamadapadavu. Lokayukta police have also issued a notice to Bantwal tahsildar Archana Bhat, and the investigation is ongoing.
On August 13 afternoon, Rajesh Naik and Santosh were caught while accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000 through broker Ganesh from the complainant. The accused had allegedly kept the complainant’s mother’s pauti file pending at the tahsildar’s office since April despite court approval, harassing them and demanding bribes. Santosh had first collected Rs 1,500, while Rajesh Naik insisted on Rs 20,000 to pass on to the tahsildar.
The complainant lodged a detailed complaint with the Mangaluru Lokayukta police, leading to a trap on August 13. The police arranged for the complainant to hand over Rs 20,000 as demanded, catching the accused red-handed.
Lokayukta SP Kumarachandra stated that details of the case could not be revealed at this stage as the investigation was still underway. He confirmed that notices had been issued to all suspected parties, including the tahsildar, and that there were reports of increased activity of brokers at the Bantwal taluk office in recent months.
Middleman used to receive bribe
To avoid being caught directly, Rajesh Naik had allegedly used broker Ganesh to collect the bribe. Ganesh received the money from the complainant near the horticulture department office at BC Road and later passed it on to the deputy tahsildar. Ganesh now finds himself behind bars along with the officials he assisted.