BENGALURU: The officers in the police department are not hesitating to express their grievance that they are paying for ‘minutes’ to get their postings and recovering it from the people. This kind of payment-based police service under ‘minutes’ is unfortunate, as it is no longer required for people, observed the Special Court for Lokayukta Cases, rejecting the bail application filed by KP Agrahara Police Inspector Govindraju.
K M Radhakrishna, Judge of the Special Court, made these scathing remarks on February 2 while also noting that assuring favours, closing of cases, filing of ‘B’ reports (closure reports) against culprits, holding threats of implicating in criminal cases and ignoring the grievances of the victims are different facets of corruption, and it has become the business of the day. This atmosphere is playing with the lives and liberty of the common people, court said.
Lokayukta police trapped and arrested Govindraju after he had allegedly accepted a Rs 4 lakh bribe on January 29 from the complainant to favour and not to register any future cases against him.
The Special Court also said: “Corrupt police officers are a threat to common man. Trapping of more than 4 police officers in the cadre of ACP, and the Inspectors within just 45 days, witnessed by this court, is the best instance to expose the terrible face of corruption in stations.”
Denying the allegations, Govindraju expressed his readiness to offer the surety and abide by any conditions in the event of bail. The public prosecutor opposed the bail application.