Case against man impersonating Lokayukta officer to extort money from govt. officials

The Vidhana Soudha police on Wednesday registered a case against an identified person who, posing as a Lokayukta officer, was threatening government officials with cases trying to extort money from them.

Based on a complaint filed by Mallikarjuna C.S., Superintendent at Lokayukta office, the police charged the accused with impersonation and extortion under Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023. Efforts are on to track down the accused, the police said.

The incident came to light when head constable Nayaz, who is handling the Lokayukta helpline, received a call from an officer from the Udupi taluk office on September 6, seeking information about an officer by the name of Phanindra.

The officer informed the helpline that Phanidra made a call to him informing him that a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, had been filed against him and demanded ₹1 lakh to drop the charges.

Initially, the officer ignored but later, unable to bear harassment from the frequent calls, he approached the Lokayukta helpline to raise the complaint.

The officials verified the mobile number on the Truecaller mobile application, where the number was shown as T. K. N. Phanindra, Karnataka Lokayukta. The officials further verified and complained that the accused was making threatening calls to other government officials trying to extort money.

Such incidents, according to Mr. Mallikarjuna, would tarnish the image of the institution and he demanded strict action against the accused. The police are yet to make any arrests in this regard.

Published - September 25, 2024 08:12 pm IST