Lokayukta police catch BESCOM AEE while accepting ₹15 lakh bribe in Bengaluru 

Bengaluru

In a anti-corruption operation, the Karnataka Lokayukta police on Friday trapped and arrested an Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) attached to the vigilance wing of the Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) while he was allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹15 lakh from a complainant in Bengaluru.

The accused official has been identified as Basavaraj, who is serving as an AEE in BESCOM’s vigilance department. According to Lokayukta sources, Basavaraj had allegedly demanded the bribe amount from a man identified as Ambarish in connection with an official matter.

Unable to bear the alleged harassment and illegal demand for money, the complainant approached the Lokayukta police and lodged a formal complaint against the officer. Following the complaint, officials of the anti-corruption agency conducted a preliminary verification and subsequently planned an elaborate trap operation to catch the accused red-handed.

Sources in the Lokayukta told blrpost.com that the operation was carefully monitored by a team of officers throughout the day. As part of the trap, the complainant was instructed to meet the accused officer and hand over the bribe amount under police surveillance.

The incident reportedly took place around 6.30 pm at the BESCOM vigilance office located in Basaveshwaranagar in Bengaluru. During the meeting, the complainant allegedly handed over ₹15 lakh in cash to the AEE. 

Immediately after the money was received, the Lokayukta officials swooped in and caught the officer red-handed while allegedly accepting the bribe.

The police later seized the cash and initiated further legal proceedings against the accused officer. Senior Lokayukta officials are expected to conduct additional investigations to determine whether more officials were involved in the case and to ascertain the circumstances under which the bribe was allegedly demanded.