Two held for extorting money from Govt. officials

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, JAN. 13. Two persons have been arrested for allegedly blackmailing nearly 25 Government officers and extorting money from them in the guise of Lokayukta officials.

G.K.Sreenivas and B.N.Mallikarjuna were arrested by the Lokayukta officials, and handed over to the Vidhana Soudha police.

Sreenivas is under suspension from a leading software firm. The two were into real estate business for some time. They used to introduce themselves to Government officials as the Deputy Superintendent of Police and the Inspector of the Lokayukta, respectively, police said.

In the past two months, they contacted 25 officers over phone, and allegedly extorted money from them, promising that the complaints pending against them with the Lokayukta would be withdrawn.

On January 5, the accused called up Mr. Ramesh, Assistant Executive Engineer in the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP), and told him that the Lokayukta had received a complaint against him and it would be dropped if he paid them Rs. 5,000.

Mr. Ramesh suspected them, and informed the Lokayukta officers. The latter arrested the two when they came to take the money from him.

Mallikarjuna's father was a leading writer of Kannada thrillers, police said.

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Charred to death: Premantah (42) was charred to death in a fire at his house in Lakshminarayana Colony, off Mathikere, in Yeshwanthapur police station limits on Friday night. His wife, Ms. Shobha, was seriously injured in the incident.

Premantah was a BMTC bus conductor. Ms. Shoba has been admitted to Victoria Hospital. In a statement to police, she said her clothes caught fire and Premantah suffered burns when he tried to rescue her. Their two children, who were at home, were not injured, police said.

Initially, police suspected that the couple attempted to commit suicide. The Yeshwanthapur police have registered a case.

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Recovered: The Ashoknagar police have arrested two youths from Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), and claimed to have recovered 10 two- wheelers allegedly stolen by them.

Police said the arrested were Shashi Kumar, a two-wheeler mechanic, and Riyaz. They had allegedly stolen these vehicles, using fake keys, from parking lots in Ulsoor, Commercial Street, Ashoknagar and Silver Jubilee Park police station limits. They had sold these vehicles in KGF, police added.

The Rajagopalanagar police have arrested Manjunath of Hegganahalli, and claimed to have recovered a colour television set and Rs. 15,000 in cash, allegedly stolen by him.

The accused had allegedly snatched away a bag containing Rs. 36,500 in cash from a person at Kempe Gowda bus stand. He purchased the television set using the money, police added.

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