Karnataka man impersonates Upalokayukta, held
BENGALURU: The Anekal police arrested a man, who claimed to work in the Karnataka Lokayukta and misused the name of Upalokayukta Justice B. Veerappa on a caller ID application. The accused tried to threaten the deputy tahsildar of Anekal to complete work by misusing the Upalokayukta’s name.
The accused has been identified as Anand Kumar, a native of Kolar. The police said that Kumar met the Deputy Tahsildar of Anekal, Kariya Naik, claiming he was employed in the Karnataka Lokayukta office in Bengaluru and was a relative of Upalokayukta Justice B. Veerappa. He requested Naik to change the name of the owner of a one-acre land in Sarjapur to his brother’s name, though the land belonged to some other person.
When Naik ignored his request, Kumar approached him again and handed him a phone, claiming that a senior police officer with the Lokayukta was on line. The person on the other end also pretended to be a Lokayukta official. Kumar allegedly threatened and harassed Naik, pressuring him to complete the work without delay. He also saved his number as “Upalokayukta B Veerappa” on a caller ID application and used the number to contact Naik.
Suspicious of Kumar’s claims, Naik shared his number and photo with Lokayukta officials. Upon verification, the officials confirmed that Kumar was not associated with the Lokayukta, following which Naik filed a complaint with the police. Following the complaint, the police arrested Kumar and are conducting further investigations into the matter.