BENGALURU: The Karnataka Lokayukta police have arrested police inspector Shivaji Rao and sub-inspector Shivanand of Kempegowda Nagar Police Station, along with a Rs 1 lakh bribe that they allegedly accepted from the complainant to favour him in a crime registered against him by a businessman.
According to the official statement, the complainant, Keshavamurthy, a resident of Avalahalli in the city, approached the Lokayukta police, unable to pay the Rs 6 lakh bribe demanded by the accused police officials.
The bribe was demanded in exchange for helping him in a crime registered against him with Kempegowda Nagar police in February 2025.
Accordingly, the Lokayukta police laid the trap after registering the crime under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and secured both inspector Shivaji Rao and sub-inspector Shivanand along with Rs 1 lakh bribe.
The complainant is an accused:
Uttam Chand Maru, a businessman from Kempegowda Nagar, filed a complaint against Keshavamurthy, who had earlier lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta police at the Kempegowda Nagar police station on February 20, 2025. According to the complaint, Keshavamurthy came in contact with Uttam Chand Maru by buying gold ornaments from him in 2018.
Later, he allegedly informed Uttam Chand that he worked as a car driver in the Excise Department of the Karnataka government and was well acquainted with senior officials in the department, which would make it easy for him to obtain a CL-07 or CL-09 bar or wine shop license.
Subsequently, he sent the number of a bar license registered in the name of R K Enterprises to the number of Uttam Chand from his mobile number.
Believing it, Uttam Chand allegedly paid Rs 1.30 crore both in cash and payment through the account in a phased manner. He also gave him 1 kg 240 gm gold ornaments to Keshavamurthy as demanded by him between 2020 to 2022 to get the bar license.
However, Keshavamurthy neither got the bar license to Uttam Chand nor repaid the money and gave back the ornaments, but abused him with filthy language and gave him life-threats. Therefore, Uttam Chand lodged a complaint with Kempegowda Nagar police against him.