3-year jail for food safety officer for taking Rs 5k bribe in Bengaluru.
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Accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 to issue a licence for manufacturing spice powder turned costly for Ullas B Ganganahalli, the then food safety officer, Health and Family Welfare Department, working in the South Zone of BBMP on deputation, with a special court sentencing him to three years of rigorous imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh. Judge KM Radhakrishna of the Special Court for Lokayukta cases sentenced Ganganahalli, as the charges of accepting bribe were proved under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Refusing to accept request for leniency sought by the accused, the court observed that nowadays, “corruption has become common from top to bottom in the system. Public servants like the accused have converted their position as a licence to be involved in corruption shamelessly without fear of law, right or wrong, or humanity or morality.
This kind of pandemic exposes the inability of the middle-class and law enforcement agencies to control it. It is unfortunate to call ourselves members of a welfare and modern society. If permitted to continue, it would be more dangerous than external terrorism to the democratic system”.
Ganganahalli asked the complainant, Mahesh BV, to keep the Rs-5,000 bribe in a notebook that was kept on the back seat of his car, parked on the premises of the Health Department, near Anand Rao Circle, after he came down from the third floor of the building and occupied the driver’s seat.
After trapping him, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths seized an undeclared amount of Rs 90,510 from his possession, along with the bribe amount. The accused took the defence that he was ignorant about the money in the notebook.
However, the court rejected the argument, saying that it is quite natural to know how the complainant could keep the amount in the notebook on the back seat, unless the accused opened the back door of his car and was permitted to keep it.
Mahesh had applied for a license to manufacture spice powder. When he called over the mobile phone, Ganganahalli asked him to come to Gangothri Circle of BTM Layout on December 11, 2018. When he gave a copy of the application seeking licence at the earliest, the then FSO allegedly demanded Rs 10,000 by showing his 10 fingers. However, when the complainant expressed his inability, he scaled down to Rs 5,000, with the gesture of five fingers.
Refusing to accept request for leniency sought by the accused, the court observed that nowadays, “corruption has become common from top to bottom in the system. Public servants like the accused have converted their position as a licence to be involved in corruption shamelessly without fear of law, right or wrong, or humanity or morality.
This kind of pandemic exposes the inability of the middle-class and law enforcement agencies to control it. It is unfortunate to call ourselves members of a welfare and modern society. If permitted to continue, it would be more dangerous than external terrorism to the democratic system”.
Ganganahalli asked the complainant, Mahesh BV, to keep the Rs-5,000 bribe in a notebook that was kept on the back seat of his car, parked on the premises of the Health Department, near Anand Rao Circle, after he came down from the third floor of the building and occupied the driver’s seat.
After trapping him, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths seized an undeclared amount of Rs 90,510 from his possession, along with the bribe amount. The accused took the defence that he was ignorant about the money in the notebook.
However, the court rejected the argument, saying that it is quite natural to know how the complainant could keep the amount in the notebook on the back seat, unless the accused opened the back door of his car and was permitted to keep it.
Mahesh had applied for a license to manufacture spice powder. When he called over the mobile phone, Ganganahalli asked him to come to Gangothri Circle of BTM Layout on December 11, 2018. When he gave a copy of the application seeking licence at the earliest, the then FSO allegedly demanded Rs 10,000 by showing his 10 fingers. However, when the complainant expressed his inability, he scaled down to Rs 5,000, with the gesture of five fingers.