MANGALURU: A head constable attached to Puttur town station has been sentenced to three years of imprisonment on charges of demanding and accepting bribe for filing an FIR.
The incident occurred on July 6, 2011, when the accused Prakash S, who was working at Belthangady station, demanded a bribe of Rs 1,000 to register an FIR from the complainant Farooq. Prakash was caught red-handed by the Mangaluru Lokayukta team led by Inspector Dileep Kumar while accepting the bribe.
Special public prosecutor KSN Rajesh had represented the Lokayukta in the case at the third district and session court. Lokayukta special court judge B B Jakati announced the quantum of punishment on Friday.
Under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, simple imprisonment of one year and a fine of Rs 5,000, under Section 13(1)(d) of the Act, 2 years of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000, and 2 months of simple punishment if he fails to pay the fine, has been pronounced by the court. The charge sheet was earlier filed by Inspector Dileep Kumar.
In this case, the complainant had changed his statement. However, the prosecutor argued that though the complainant had given different statements, in corruption cases, the accused can be punished based on other evidence considered by the court.