The Lokayukta police managed to catch a junior engineer of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) from Bharatipura on Friday morning just as he was about to register a plot that he allegedly secured through illegal means.
G.R. Nagaraj, the BBMP official, reportedly coerced the owner to sell the plot at a price well below the guidance value fixed by the government.
In his complaint to the Lokayukta, one Puttaiah said that he had approached Mr. Nagaraj with an application to regularise the titles of seven plots he owned.
Demands plot
As a bribe to perform his official duty, Mr. Nagaraj allegedly demanded that Mr. Puttaiah sell him one of the corner plots for a throwaway price.
He also allegedly threatened Mr. Puttaiah that if he did not comply, he would entangle the property in litigation that would drag on for decades.
The engineer also said that he wanted the plot measuring 1,763 sq. ft. to be registered in the name of his uncle, B.J. Rangaswamy.
Trap laid
On Friday, the Lokayukta police laid a trap for Mr. Nagaraj at the Nagarbhavi Sub-Registrar’s office where he had gone to register the plot. During the operation, it emerged that Mr. Nagaraj was paying only Rs. 750 per sq. ft. for the plot which was Rs. 1,430 per sq. ft. as per the government’s valuation.
In custody
Mr. Nagaraj was arrested and remanded in judicial custody for 15 days.
