The prime accused in the Karnataka police sub-inspector recruitment scam, R D Patil, has claimed in a now-viral video that he paid bribes to an investigating officer to secure 'some relief'. After Patil’s claims, the Congress said the allegations revealed the BJP government was trying to bury the case. The Opposition party also sought a time-bound judicial probe under the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court into the recruitment scam. In the video, Patil can be heard saying Deputy Superintendent of Police Shankaregowda Patil, the principal investigator in one of the cases related to the PSI scam, offered him an opportunity. Patil is heard saying the police officer asked him to "compromise with us”. “You have taken money from many people and secured them jobs. What will you do with the money? Give us some money and we will give you some relief," the official allegedly told the accused. Patil claimed he was asked for Rs 3 crore to ensure 'relief' in one of the cases related to the scam, following which he had paid Rs 76 lakh to the official. The video was released Tuesday. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is investigating the alleged irregularities that took place during the process of recruiting 545 police sub-inspectors for the Karnataka Police department. Around 100 people, including senior police officers, have been arrested in connection with the case, and the CID has registered as many as 20 FIRs in connection with the scam. Responding to the claims made in the now-viral video, AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said Wednesday there was a "sinister design shut down the case to hide the role of the former Home Minister and current Chief Minister (Basavaraj Bommai) and current Home Minister (Araga Jnanendra)" in the case. Jnanendra should either resign or must be sacked, he said. The senior Congress leader demanded a time-bound judicial probe under the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court to unearth the role of various persons involved in the scam. Surjewala said Patil had also written to the Lokayukta over bribes demanded by the investigating officer "to dilute and finish the PSI scam case". On January 23, Patil surrendered before a local court in Kalaburagi after being on the run for four days. He had recently escaped arrest by purportedly pushing CID officers.
