BENGALURU, India — Two senior police officers in Bengaluru, a hub for India’s tech industry, were arrested on charges of accepting a bribe to influence a cyber fraud investigation. The officers, identified as Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Tanveer S R and Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Krishna Murthy, were apprehended by the Lokayukta police on Tuesday night, following a sting operation prompted by a complaint from a 42-year-old software engineer.
The Lokayukta, Karnataka’s anti-corruption watchdog, revealed that the officers had demanded Rs four lakh (approximately $4,800) from the complainant to investigate a cyber fraud case and arrest the accused. After negotiations, the amount was settled at Rs two lakh ($2,400), which the ASI was caught accepting as an advance payment. The ACP was also arrested in connection with the scheme, marking a significant blow to the Bengaluru police’s reputation.
The software engineer, whose identity has not been disclosed, approached the Lokayukta after the officers allegedly pressured him for the bribe. A trap was set, leading to the arrests at the Cyber, Economic, and Narcotics Police Station in Bengaluru’s North East Division. “The complainant acted with courage, and we acted swiftly to uphold justice,” a Lokayukta official said on Wednesday, adding that the investigation into the officers’ conduct is ongoing.
This incident comes amid a broader crackdown on corruption in Karnataka. On the same day, the Lokayukta arrested three other individuals in separate cases across the state. In Ramanagara district, G Muniraju, a Panchayat Development Officer in Soumedyappanahalli village, was caught accepting a bribe to sanction materials under the MGNREGA program. In Chitradurga, Naveen AM, a District Credit Cooperative Bank superintendent at the Hosadurga branch, was arrested for taking Rs 15,000 to process loans for farmers. Additionally, in Belagavi, two Forest Department staff members, Mohammed Saab Moosamiya and Vinayak Patil, were detained for accepting Rs 7,000 to avoid legal action under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
The arrests highlight the pervasive issue of corruption in India’s public sector, even as the country strives to modernize its economy and governance. Bengaluru, often called the “Silicon Valley of India,” has seen a surge in cyber fraud cases in recent years, with criminals exploiting the city’s tech-savvy population. The involvement of senior police officers in such a scandal raises questions about the integrity of law enforcement in addressing these crimes.
The Lokayukta has vowed to continue its efforts to root out corruption, with officials stating that the arrests of the ACP and ASI are part of a larger operation targeting misconduct in government institutions. “This is a warning to all public servants: no one is above the law,” the Lokayukta official said. Meanwhile, the Bengaluru police department has remained silent on the matter, with no official statement released as of Wednesday evening.