Silvester D'Souza/JD

Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur

Kundapur, Jan 22: Lokayukta police in Udupi district arrested two government officials from the Gangolli gram panchayat office while accepting a bribe of Rs 22,000 from a complainant.

The accused are identified as Gangolli panchayat development officer (PDO) Umashankar H and second division assistant (SDA) Shekhar G.

The complainant, Mohammad Hanif, a resident of Sultan Mohalla, Gangolli, had applied to the Gangolli gram panchayat in November to split survey number 108/13, measuring 8.25 cents, into two parts. However, the officials delayed the process, harassing him and demanding a bribe of Rs 25,000 to carry out the work.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, Hanif lodged a complaint with the Udupi Lokayukta police on January 22. Acting under the guidance of Lokayukta superintendent of police Nataraj M A (Mangaluru), the Lokayukta team led by deputy superintendent of police Manjunath, inspector Amanulla A (Mangaluru), and inspector Chandra Shekhar K N (Mangaluru) set a trap.

The Lokayukta personnel, including officers from Udupi and Mangaluru, conducted the operation and caught the accused red-handed while accepting the bribe at the Gangolli panchayat office. The arrested officials are currently in police custody for further investigation.