Retired govt. official convicted for taking bribe while in service; faces two years’ imprisonment

A Shivamogga court on Thursday convicted a retired government official for taking a bribe of ₹10,000 from a farmer for sanctioning a borewell under the State government’s Ganga Kalyana scheme while he was serving as the Shivamogga District Manager at the Devaraj Urs Backward Classes Development Corporation.

The court convicted R.S. Parameshwarappa and sentenced him to two years of imprisonment, besides slapping a penalty of ₹40,000. He was trapped by Shivamogga Lokayukta police while taking the bribe from H.S. Janardhana, a resident of Hosagunda village in Sagar taluk, on July 13, 2017.

Janardhana, the complainant, was one of the beneficiaries under the Ganga Kalyana Scheme. Parameshwarappa, who was then district manager at the corporation, demanded a bribe to grant him the benefit. Janardhana lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta Police, who set a trap while the officer was taking the bribe. Then Lokayukta Deputy Superintendent of Police A. Chandrappa conducted the investigation and filed the charge-sheet.

After hearing the case, Abhay Dhanapal Chougala, the first additional district and sessions judge, convicted the accused and sentenced him to imprisonment.\

Special prosecutor M.D. Sundar Raj represented the prosecution in the case, said a press release issued by B.P. Chandrashekhar, Lokayukta Superintendent of Police (in charge).

Parameshwarappa, who was 58 years old at the time of the trap, has retired from the service and settled in Shivamogga.