Fire Officer Allegedly Demanded Rs 3 Lakh for School NOC, Caught Accepting Rs 1 Lakh in Lokayukta Trap:

A team of Lokayukta officials caught district Fire Officer B R Ashok Kumar red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh on Thursday. The bribe was reportedly demanded for issuing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for a school building.

Anoop, a resident of Shikaripura, had applied for a fire safety NOC about six months ago for his pre-school building, ‘Nandagokula’, located in Channakeshava Nagar, Shikaripura. He had also installed the required fire safety systems and submitted the necessary documents.

According to the complaint, Ashok Kumar allegedly delayed issuing the NOC and demanded Rs 3 lakh as a bribe. When Anoop said he could not pay that amount, the officer allegedly agreed to accept Rs 1 lakh.

Anoop then approached the Lokayukta Police and filed a complaint. Acting on the complaint, a Lokayukta team led by DySP B P Chandrashekhar, along with Inspectors Veerabasappa and Rudresha, conducted a raid at the Shivamogga fire station.

The officials caught Ashok Kumar while he was allegedly accepting the Rs 1 lakh bribe from Anoop. The cash was recovered from the officer, and he was arrested and later remanded to judicial custody.

The operation was conducted under the guidance of Lokayukta SP Anthony John.