Two held for extorting govt babus by posing as ACB officials

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru

Two people were arrested for their alleged involvement in extorting money from the government officials by posing as Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officers. Police sources said the accused were arrested in Hassan on Friday.
Police identified the accused as Murgappa Ningappa Kumbar, 56, hailing from Chikodi and Rajani Kanth, 46, of Muguli village in Sakleshpur.
According to police, Kumbar has 40 similar cases pending against him while the other accused, Rajani Kanth has six such cases. It is also being alleged that Rajani Kanth was earlier dismissed from the police force.
The modus operandi of the accused involved posing as a DySP of the ACB and calling public servants under various departments across the state, threatening them with raids and demanding money for hushing up the matter.
The duo was tracked and arrested after a probe was launched based on a complaint filed at Vidhana Soudha Police station by a government official from the education department, Dhananjaya.
The official had received a call by the accused claiming to be DySP from ACB, saying that they have received information relating to corruption against him and the ACB is in the process of raiding his office and residence. Further they asked the official to send some “gifts” to the senior officials of the department who are soon leaving for Sri Lanka and Manasarovar.
Police said that the two were previously arrested for similar offences, but continued their ways after being released on bail. A senior police officer said, “Courts have issued arrest warrants against them, but they were absconding. It has been found that they used to take money through digital wallets.” Further investigations are underway, police added.

Bicycle thief held
Bengaluru Police have arrested a man accused of stealing bicycles to pay for his alcohol addiction. The arrested accused has been identified as Balaraj, 48, a resident of Mylasandra in the city.
The police said that the accused has been a habitual offender and has been imprisoned on various occasions. He hoped that the people would not report bicycle thefts to the police.
Based on a complaint recently filed at Suddaguntepalya police station, a police team nabbed Balaraj and recovered 54 bicycles worth Rs 6 lakh from his possession. Following his arrest, police have solved multiple cases filed at different police stations across the city including nine cases from Suddaguntepalya, and one case from Madiwala police station, police said.

Employee held for laptop thefts
Koramangala police arrested an employee of a private firm for stealing laptops and other valuables from his workplace in the city.
A complaint had been filed by the manager of the firm in Koramangala 5th block in connection with the theft of eight laptops and other valuables on May 23. As per the complaint, the incident had taken place on the same day between 1:30 pm and 2: 30 pm in the afternoon.
 The police began a probe and scanned CCTV footage of the surrounding areas for the clue. They found the accused and identified him to be one of the employees of the firm.
During the interrogation, the accused confessed to having committed the theft to teach his manager a lesson. The accused alleged that the manager used to make him work for long hours.
The police recovered the laptops, leather bags, headsets and a two-wheeler from the accused.