BENGALURU: Following a social media post by a bereaved father on paying bribes to Bellandur police, Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) officials and others after his only daughter’s death, two police personnel were suspended on Thursday.
The post by K Sivakumar, former Central Financial Officer (CFO) of a central PSU, received a backlash from netizens, prompting officials to take action.
The suspended police personnel who allegedly demanded and accepted bribes are Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) Santosh and constable Goraknath, attached to Bellandur police station. GBA is yet to take action.
The official social media handle of DCP, Whitefield, posted on X: “The Police Department will not tolerate any such indecent or inappropriate behaviour under any circumstances.” DCP Whitefield K Parashurama told TNIE that a departmental inquiry has been initiated. TNIE was the first to publish the news on Wednesday, headlined ‘64-year-old father alleges harassment after daughter’s death’.
In a detailed LinkedIn post, Sivakumar shared his ordeal a month after his daughter’s death, writing that he wanted to “share with everyone the state of affairs when one loses their dear one”. The senior citizen described how he had to deal with corruption and apathy -- from an ambulance driver to police personnel to crematorium staff and civic officials.
Akshaya Sivakumar (34), an IIT Madras and IIM Ahmedabad graduate who worked in Bengaluru, died of a brain haemorrhage on September 18. Sivakumar’s post was later deleted under alleged pressure.
According to family members, the ambulance driver initially demanded Rs 3,000 to shift the body but later sought an additional Rs 2,000. Police allegedly demanded Rs 10,000 to allow the postmortem, claiming there was “foul play” in the death. After Sivakumar’s former employer intervened, the police allowed the postmortem, and he paid Rs 5,000 at Bellandur police station to get the report. He had initially paid Rs 2,000 and another Rs 3,000 later. The family also paid Rs 2,000 at the Mahadevapura (Bengaluru East City Corporation) office to collect the death certificate after five days of struggle.
