Mangaluru: A bill collector of a gram panchayat in Dakshina Kannada was trapped by the Karnataka Lokayukta police while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 on the instructions of the gram panchayat president on Saturday.The complainant’s uncle owns an acre of agricultural land in Peruvai village, Bantwal taluk. Since there was no water source, he submitted an application in 2024 to the panchayat development officer (PDO) of Peruvai gram panchayat under the govt’s Special Component Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan, for a sanction of a borewell for his land. However, his name was excluded from the borewell beneficiaries’ list in 2024.The complainant’s uncle once again applied for a borewell in May this year. Following this, the complainant’s wife visited the Peruvai GP office multiple times, but no proper response was given.As the complainant’s uncle is about 75-years-old and unwell, he asked the complainant to follow up on the borewell application with the panchayat. Accordingly, on Sept 2, the complainant visited the office and enquired with panchayat president Nafisa about the status of the borewell sanction. She allegedly told him that he would have to pay Rs 10,000 to the Bengaluru office and that she would personally go to Bengaluru and get the work done. The complainant, stating he did not have such an amount, returned home. On Sept 4, when the complainant again approached Nafisa for sanctioning the borewell, she allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 10,000. Based on this complaint, a case was registered at the Mangaluru Lokayukta police station against the gram panchayat president.Bill collector William was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000, allegedly acting on the instructions of Nafisa, during the operation. Lokayukta officials have taken both Nafisa and William into custody, and an investigation is ongoing.
