The Anti-Corruption Bureau police arrested Sringeri tahsildar R. Ambuja and village accountant Siddappa for demanding a bribe for regularisation of a residential property.
The police arrested Siddappa while accepting a bribe of ₹25,000 from Sanjay Kumar H.D., a resident of Bellanduru village in Sringeri taluk of Chikkamagaluru district in the premises of the Inspection Bungalow. After further inquiry, they took Ambuja also into custody.
The ACB said Sanjay Kumar had applied for an RTC of his property in Form 94 (C) of the Land Reforms Act in August 2018. When he approached the tahsildar to follow up on his application, he was told to contact village accountant Siddappa with the relevant documents. When he met Siddappa on January 3, the official allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹60,000 to get his work done.
The complainant met the tahsildar on January 4 and informed her about the village accountant’s demand. The tahsildar told him to get the documents prepared by the village accountant.
Sanjay Kumar lodged a complaint with the ACB. The police, with the help of the complainant, arrested Siddappa red-handed while accepting the bribe on January 6. Later in the day, they took the tahsildar into custody.
Deputy Superintendent of Police C.R. Geetha, Inspectors A.G. Rathod and Manjunath, and others were involved in the operation.
