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Time of India
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Former Karnataka lokayukta cop's bail plea rejected
Bengaluru: A special court for Lokayukta cases in the city on Friday rejected the anticipatory bail petition filed by IPS officer Srinath Mahadev Joshi, the former superintendent of police with lokayukta, after his name cropped up in a case, pertaining to blackmail and extortion of govt officials. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Joshi was relieved from the lokayukta post on June 12. On June 15, lokayukta police visited his house and affixed a notice on the door, directing Joshi to appear for interrogation in a corruption-related case on June 16. Soon, Joshi approached the special court, seeking anticipatory bail. Similarly, Joshi had successfully approached the Karnataka high court, seeking a stay against the notice.
Indian Express
19-07-2025
- Indian Express
Karnataka Lokayukta extortion case: Special court rejects IPS officer's second anticipatory bail plea
A special court for Lokayukta cases in Karnataka on Friday rejected for the second time an anticipatory bail plea filed by IPS officer Srinath Mahadev Joshi in connection with an alleged extortion racket targeting government officials in the name of Lokayukta officials. A former Lokayukta police officer, Joshi's plea was rejected as being 'devoid of merits' after the Lokayukta police told the court that he had appeared for investigations on the basis of notices issued to him and that there is no apprehension of arrest. The special court had previously rejected Joshi's anticipatory bail plea on June 24 after the Karnataka High Court stayed the probe in the FIR registered by the Lokayukta police against a retired police constable, Ningappa Savant, who is accused of carrying out extortion in the name of Lokayukta officials, including police officers. The court previously noted that the Lokayukta police had alleged that Joshi, who was working as the superintendent of police in the Karnataka Lokayukta, had 'joined his hands with the accused by name Ningappa @ Ningappa Savant and conspired together to extract the money from the government servants of various departments'. The special court noted in its June 24 order that Joshi was making phone calls to government officials through Savant 'and illegally extracting the money by posing the threat of raids'. The court also noted on the basis of the police submissions that Joshi was investing money he obtained through illegal activities in cryptocurrency. The counsel for Joshi had argued that he had served the police force for more than 20 years in various districts and 'received the President's award'. The IPS officer sought anticipatory bail for the second time after the Karnataka High Court ruled on July 8 that the first summons issued to him by the Lokayukta police to appear for investigations on July 15 had lapsed and that fresh summons could be issued. The Lokayukta police told the special court during the arguments this week in the second anticipatory bail plea filed by Joshi that he had appeared before the agency and surrendered his mobile phones and that his voice samples need to be collected. 'Joshi was in touch with Ningappa and was involved in threatening government officials to extort money. They used the code word 'kg' (for money), the preliminary probe has revealed. The money was converted by investing in cryptocurrency,' the Lokayukta said in an official statement on the probe on July 3. The extortion activities linked to the Karnataka Lokayukta emerged after a May 23 extortion bid on a Regional Transport Officer in Tumkur where he filed a complaint with the Tumkur police saying he had received a call from an unidentified number by a caller claiming to be Vamsi Krishna, the superintendent of police of the Bengaluru City Lokayukta unit, demanding money to prevent a Lokayukta raid.
Indian Express
17-06-2025
- Indian Express
Insider job suspected as Karnataka cop extorts money from govt officials by posing as Lokayukta officer, invests in crypto
Karnataka's Lokayukta police have searched an IPS officer's home after the arrest of a dismissed head constable accused of extorting Rs 4.19 crore from government officials by posing as a Lokayukta officer and investing extortion money in cryptocurrencies. The IPS officer, Srinath Mahadev Joshi, served as superintendent of police (Bengaluru city-1) with the Lokayukta until June 12. G Ningappa, also known as Ningappa Sawanth, the former head constable from Chitradurga, was allegedly helped by a senior Lokayukta police officer in his extortion activities. The Lokayukta said in a statement on Tuesday that 35 cases had been registered at various police stations where government officials, mainly from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the excise department, were approached for extortion money. It is suspected that Ningappa used the names not only of Lokayukta-attached police officers but also of the Lokayukta and the Upa Lokayukta. Ningappa is accused of calling government officials over the phone to extort money ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. Investigations have established that Ningappa collected approximately Rs 58 lakh from excise officials alone. He received money through various channels, including UPI transfers, and the money was subsequently transferred to his cryptocurrency portfolios. The Lokayukta has discovered 13 cryptocurrency wallets Ningappa allegedly had. He reportedly invested in Binance and Bitget cryptocurrencies. A police officer said that Ningappa frequently visited the Lokayukta headquarters but went largely unnoticed. He is said to have operated for six months and been meeting certain IPS officers who provided him with confidential information regarding upcoming raids and pending reports about government officials accused of wrongdoing. Armed with such information, Ningappa bought multiple SIM cards in the name of government officials and used several IPS officers' names on caller IDs. He used the same SIM cards to call his extortion targets. Lokayukta officials had been watching Ningappa's confident movement to the IPS officer's chambers in the headquarters. A police officer said that Srinath Mahadev Joshi had even visited Ningappa's home in Chitradurga and was felicitated by his family. 'We also have records of Ningappa visiting Joshi's residence in Bengaluru multiple times,' an officer added. Ningappa's arrest has given rise to several speculations, especially at the bureaucratic level as some officials who spoke to suspect the involvement of top officials of the anti-corruption agency. However, this is not the first time Lokayukta has come under public scrutiny. In 2015, Lokayukta Justice Y Bhaskar Rao had to step down after his son Ashwin Rao was arrested on charges of running an extortion racket from the agency's offices. Bhaskar Rao was also named as one of the accused in the case. Following the controversy, the then Congress government shut the Lokayukta and established the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). However, the BJP government later abolished the ACB and revived the Lokayukta. Lokayukta head B S Patil has directed officials to initiate action against suspects, sources said. He has formally requested the government to establish a dedicated 'vigilance wing' within the Lokayukta structure. The proposed wing would operate under a sitting district judge's supervision, ensuring continuous oversight of police activities and preventing future misconduct.
