Lokayukta sleuths caught a police head constable and a constable red-handed while accepting a bribe from a woman to release her minor son from custody.
The accused head constable Narasimha Murthy and constable Srinivasa, attached to Ashok Nagar police station, had detained a boy from Austin town, whose age could not be confirmed, on theft charges five days ago.
The family members of the victim, who went to the police station, were shooed away stating that he was detained under a theft case and enquiries are on.
On Saturday, when the boy’s mother went to enquire, Murthy allegedly demanded Rs 50,000 to release the boy.
The family then approached the Lokayukta, which laid a trap and made the woman to call up Murthy to negotiate the bribe. After much persuasion, she managed to bring down the bribe amount to Rs. 20,000.
On Sunday, the duo was trapped red-handed while accepting the bribe.
When The Hindu contacted senior police officials for a response on the matter, they feigned ignorance about the detention. Even the senior officials of Bangalore City Police’s Central Division, who have to be kept informed about any detention, said they were not aware about the detention.
Lokayukta police said the inquiries revealed that the accused police officials had kept the boy in illegal detention for the past five days. A case has been booked against them under Prevention of Corruption Act and they have been taken into custody.
