Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (JD)

Udupi, Nov 16: In a major operation by the Lokayukta, the deputy director of Udupi treasury, Ravikumar, and his assistant Raghavendra were caught red-handed while accepting a bribe on Saturday.

The incident came to light when retired teacher Hitendra Bhandari, who had been struggling for five months to receive his pension, filed a complaint with the Lokayukta. According to the complaint, Ravikumar and Raghavendra had been harassing him and demanding a bribe of Rs 5,000 to release his pension funds.

Acting on the complaint, a team led by Udupi in-charge Lokayukta DySP Manjunath, along with Mangaluru Lokayukta PI P Suresh and K N Chandrashekhar, conducted a sting operation. The officials apprehended Ravikumar and Raghavendra while they were accepting the bribe.

The operation involved Lokayukta personnel, including Nagaraj, Satish, Prasanna, Ramesh, Suraj, Sudheer, Raghavendra, Pushpalatha, and Mallika. The accused were taken into custody, and further investigation is underway.