Udupi: Cooperative Audit Officials Apprehended by Lokayukta Authorities in Bribery Case
Udupi: In a significant anti-corruption operation, the Udupi Lokayukta police have apprehended Renuka, the Deputy Director of the District Cooperative Audit Department, and Jayaram, a First Division Assistant, on charges of soliciting a bribe. The arrests took place on Wednesday following a complaint lodged by a local cooperative society official.
The accused individuals allegedly demanded a sum of Rs 10,000, with each seeking Rs 5,000, to facilitate the election process of the administrative board of a Souharda Cooperative Society. Narendra, the Chief Executive Officer of Shantiniketan Souharda Cooperative, declined to comply with the demand and instead filed a formal complaint with the Udupi Lokayukta police.
Acting swiftly upon the complaint, a Lokayukta team executed a raid on the Deputy Director’s office in Udupi. During the operation, Renuka was caught red-handed while accepting the illicit payment. She was immediately taken into custody by the authorities.
The operation was conducted under the supervision of Mangaluru Lokayukta SP Kumarchandra and was led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (in-charge) Manjunath Shankarahalli. The team also included Inspector Rajendra Nayak M.N., Inspector Chandrashekhar from the Mangaluru Lokayukta, and a contingent of Lokayukta staff members from both Udupi and Mangaluru.
The investigative team comprised officers Nagesh Udupa, Nagaraj, Rohith, Satish Handadi, Mallika, Pushpavathi, Abdul Jalal, Ravindra Ganiga, Prasanna Devadiga, Ramesh, Satish Acharya, Raghavendra Hosakote, Suraj, and Sudhir, among others, demonstrating a coordinated effort to combat corruption within the cooperative sector. The investigation into the matter is ongoing.