Mangalore: DIC Official Caught Red-handed

News: Times of India
Pics: Dayananda Kukkaje

Mangalore, Dec 11: Deputy director of District Industrial Centre Rajaiah was trapped by the district Lok Ayukta police, for taking a bribe from a former corporator, here on Monday. The official has been arrested.

The operation was led by Lok Ayukta DySP B J Bhandary and inspector Uday Nayak. Former corporator Ganesh Rao, the complainant, told The Times of India that officials of the Centre had asked him for money to release government aid.

Ganesh, who runs a small scale industry at Yeyyadi, said he was to get Rs 96,000 as government aid for the year 2005, and added that the amount was to be paid by the government in two instalments of Rs 48,000 each. He was to get the first instalment recently.

The money has to be released and then deposited to my loan account. But to issue the report alone, officials of the Centre demanded money, he said. So he informed the Lok Ayukta about it, and the trap was laid.

The police applied chemicals to Rs 1,000 (one note of Rs 500-denomination and the rest of Rs-100 denomination) and gave it to Rao, who was to hand it over to the deputy director.

After the money was handed over, the LA police immediately arrested Rajaiah. Ganesh Rao said he had earlier paid Rs 2,750 to various officials of the Centre, including a senior officer, to release this amount of the government grant.