Bengaluru: Karnataka Lokayukta police have arrested the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) of state Energy Minister KJ George for allegedly accepting a bribe for issuing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for approving an electricity connection.
According to a Lokayukta statement, Jyothi Prakash (50), an executive engineer at Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) and the Energy Minister’s OSD, and his car driver Naveen (34), were caught accepting a bribe of ₹50,000.
The Lokayukta police registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act following a complaint by KM Anantharaju, a resident of Byadarahalli.
In his complaint, Anantharaju stated that he had applied for an electricity connection for construction work in a block. However, Prakash allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹1 lakh for issuing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for approving the electricity connection.
The statement said that the initial demand was for one lakh rupees, but the accused allegedly agreed to settle the matter for 50,000 rupees and asked his driver to collect the amount on his behalf.
Based on the complaint, a team led by Lokayukta Superintendent of Police (SP) Shivprakash Devraju laid a trap and caught Naveen accepting the 50,000 rupees. Lokayukta officials recovered the 50,000 rupees and arrested Prakash and Naveen. Officials said the investigation into the case is ongoing.
