Tumakuru: A special court for Lokayukta cases in Tumakuru Saturday found a female village administrative officer (VAO) and a village assistant (VA), both with the revenue department, guilty of accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000 from a private person to do an official favour. They have been sentenced to three and a half years of rigorous imprisonment with fines.
The convicted are VAO (Heggere) Rashmi MN, 40 and her assistant HN Prakash, 45. Passing the orders, special judge TP Ramalinge Gowda imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on Rashmi and Rs 10,000 on Prakash. In default of the fine, they must undergo a further six months of simple imprisonment, the judge directed.
According to public prosecutor N Basavaraju, the prime convict Rashmi demanded a bribe of Rs 12,000 to transfer land documents in Sept 2021. She then agreed upon for Rs 10,000 and on Sept 28, 2021, Rashmi received Rs 2,000 in her office as an advance. She directed the private person to pay the remaining amount of Rs 8,000 the next day.
However, the private individual filed a complaint with the then Anti Corruption Bureau and a trap was laid. Accordingly, the individual visited Prakash in the Heggere office with Rs 8,000 in cash on Nov 29. Prakash handed over the same to Rashmi and ACB raided the office, seizing Rs 8,000 kept inside her vanity bag.
Both Rashmi and Prakash were present in court and were immediately sent to judicial custody at Tumakuru district prison.