Ex-Bengaluru deputy commissioner held after HC raps Anti-Corruption Bureau

IAS officer J Manjunath was arrested after the court accused the agency of ‘protecting’ him despite his subordinates having been 'caught taking a Rs 5-lakh bribe in return for a favourable order from him'.

By: Express News Service

Bengaluru | July 4, 2022 09:40 PM IST

2 min read

Manjunath was the deputy commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district before being transferred as director of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme recently. (Representational photo)

Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials in Karnataka arrested IAS officer J Manjunath after the high court pulled up the agency on Monday for “protecting” the officer despite two of his subordinates having allegedly been caught taking a Rs 5-lakh bribe in return for a favourable order from him.

Manjunath was the deputy commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district before being transferred as director of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme recently.

In May 2021, ACB officials arrested deputy tahsildar Mahesh PS and contract worker Chetan after they were allegedly caught receiving a bribe of Rs 5 lakh after promising a favourable order from the deputy commissioner in a land dispute.

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Though Manjunath was previously questioned in the case, his arrest came after, while hearing a bail petition filed by Mahesh PS, Justice H P Sandesh of the Karnataka High Court accused the ACB of protecting the IAS officer.

The ACB’s counsel submitted that the agency had seized CCTV footage from the deputy commissioner’s office and sent it to the Forensic Science Laboratory.

“We have seized his mobile phone but have yet to send it to the FSL. We have also questioned the driver and gunman of the deputy commissioner,” the counsel added.

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Bengaluru Indian Administrative Services