BBMP engineer nabbed taking Rs 1 lakh bribe

BANGALORE: A Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) assistant engineer Basavaraju was allegedly trapped red-handed by Lokayukta police while accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a contractor on Magadi Road on Tuesday evening.
Basavaraju, attached to Govindarajanagar ward office, was collecting the bribe from contractor Rupesh, when Lokayukta sleuths arrested him at 6.30pm.
Rupesh had taken up work on roads and drains. The engineer reportedly demanded a bribe of Rs 1.5 lakh to clear Rupesh's bills. After a lot of persuasion, the amount was brought down to Rs 1 lakh.
An irked Rupesh filed a complaint with Lokayukta police on Tuesday morning.
Basavaraju initially asked Rupesh to come to his office, but refused to meet him there. He then asked the contractor to meet him on Mysore Road but failed to turn up at the designated place.
Lokayukta police kept following Rupesh. Finally, Rupesh was asked to come near a scrap merchant's shop on Magadi Road. Basavaraju turned up at the shop and took the money from Rupesh. Lokayukta cops appeared on the scene and arrested Basavaraju red-handed.
He was produced before a magistrate.