Gram panchayat member caught red-handed accepting bribe from contractor in Mandya

MANDYA: A gram panchayat member, who is said to be close to a Congress MLA, was caught red-handed by the Lokayukta police while accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a contractor in Mandya on Monday evening.

Anil Kumar, a member of the Taggahalli gram panchayat in Mandya taluk and an aide of Srirangapatna MLA Ramesh Bandisiddegowda, had allegedly demanded 10 per cent bribe from contractor Basave Gowda for release of dues towards construction of toilets at the government school in Kolakarana Doddi. The work was undertaken at a cost of Rs 5.5 lakh.

Anil Kumar seen counting the cash in CCTV footage.

Anil Kumar was caught by the Lokayukta police while accepting Rs 50,000 at the Kings Coffee Cafe in Mandya. He was also captured on CCTV camera at the cafe accepting the bribe amount which the Lokayukta police have seized.

Anil Kumar had previously been jailed for assaulting and threatening a businessman. He had even manhandled police personnel who had tried to intervene. However, due to pressure from the MLA, the police had not registered a case.