Former constable ‘extorts’ govt officials of ₹4.15-crore; charges rock Lokayukta
The investigation, which began after a Tumakuru RTO received a suspicious call in May demanding a bribe to avoid a raid, has led to the arrest of 45-year-old Ningappa Savant, a former constable
Karnataka’s anti-corruption watchdog, the Lokayukta, has come under the spotlight after a dismissed constable allegedly impersonated senior officers to extort crores from government officials, including a tehsildar and BBMP engineer, and a serving IPS officer is now under scrutiny for his purported role in the racket, officers aware of the matter said on Thursday.
The investigation, which began after a Tumakuru RTO received a suspicious call in May demanding a bribe to avoid a raid, has led to the arrest of 45-year-old Ningappa Savant, a former constable, they added.
The authorities alleged that he operated a network of fake identities, siphoning off over ₹4.15 crore from officials across departments, including transport, excise, and the BBMP, they said.
Savant, dismissed from service years ago for unauthorised absence, is said to have masqueraded as part of the Lokayukta police force, using photographs and names of real officials saved on WhatsApp to deceive his targets. According to the FIR, he contacted officials saying raids were imminent — unless they paid up, they added.
One such call to Tumakuru RTO AV Prasad reportedly said that the call was from Vamsi Krishna, Lokayukta SP. The caller allegedly followed up with another message threatening a raid unless ₹1 lakh was transferred online, they said.
Investigators later found that Savant had regular access to the Lokayukta’s Bengaluru office and maintained ties with serving officers. His proximity to Joshi Srinath Mahadev, a 2012-batch promotee IPS officer and former SP of the Bengaluru City-1 division of Lokayukta police, has brought the latter under the scanner, police said.
Savant allegedly told police that part of the cryptocurrency seized during his arrest from him belonged to Mahadev.
“He has admitted that he has invested the money he extorted in cryptocurrency in his own name and that of his relatives. His mobile was checked, and it was found that he had invested the money in about 13 crypto wallets. To trace the source of the money, the said wallets have been frozen and the investigation is continuing,” the Karnataka Lokayukta said in a statement.
“Mahadev was summoned, but has sought a later date for appearance by citing a function at his residence,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity.
Mahadev, relieved of his duties on June 12, approached the sessions court for anticipatory bail, claiming apprehension of arrest. His petition came shortly after police searched his home and issued a notice under Section 35(a) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), asking him to appear for questioning on June 16, investigators said.
In his filing, Mahadev argued he had no role in the crime and that Savant had served under him years ago in Chitradurga, but their association ended long before the extortion case.
He said the allegations were a “false implication” intended to harm his career.
Mahadev also questioned the process, saying, “Strangely, the reason was not disclosed.” He added that police “did not affix a copy of the complaint or FIR, except insisting that he appear before them.”
The Karnataka high court has temporarily stayed further proceedings against Mahadev, including the police notice. However, it clarified that the investigation against 35 other officials named by Savant would go on.
“The investigation is continuing into how much money was paid to the accused Savant and by which officials,” the Lokayukta said, adding that they were examining WhatsApp chats and call logs, and call records.
Meanwhile, Savant’s wife, Chandrakala GK, has filed a petition claiming her husband was detained illegally on May 31, two days before the FIR was registered. Her lawyer argued that “grounds of arrest were not served” and noted CCTV footage from the Lokayukta office could support their case. However, Lokayukta’s counsel K Prasanna Shetty countered that “Ningappa’s arrest had been intimated to Chandrakala, who was present at the time of arrest.”
The case has also revealed that Savant used sophisticated methods to extract money, including creating WhatsApp groups with excise officials and sending them internal Lokayukta updates to suggest he had privileged access. A report by the Lokayukta noted, “It is learnt that a person named Ningappa made calls and sent messages to senior officials of the excise department’s Bangalore city divisions and some BBMP officials through WhatsApp, saying that there are complaints against them in the Lokayukta office. It is learnt that he is illegally collecting money by threatening.”
“The investigations into the case are in progress and the accused Ningappa @ Ningappa Savant has admitted that he has recovered money from various officials of the excise department for the last six months,” the Lokayukta’s June 17 statement added.
In December 2024, the Lokayukta’s deputy registrar of inquiries filed a complaint after a tehsildar was threatened using the name of the Upalokayukta. Just this month, a BBMP engineer in Bengaluru reported being asked for a bribe over a call made using the name and photo of the Lokayukta himself.
In several of these cases, the callers demanded money to suppress corruption allegations, and officials, fearing raids, paid up. The Lokayukta complaint noted, “Fearing such calls, several government officials have delivered thousands and lakhs of rupees in cash/Phone Pay to callers posing as fake Lokayukta officials.”
It added: “After some officials inquired about this on their own or through their acquaintances at the Lokayukta office, information was obtained that the real officials were not the ones who threatened them, and some officials have filed complaints with the relevant police stations about the loss of money.”
The Lokayukta had been reinstated in 2022 as Karnataka’s primary anti-corruption body following a high court order disbanding the state-run anti-corruption bureau (ACB), which was seen as ineffective. Ironically, ACB was created in 2016 after the Lokayukta itself was embroiled in a similar scandal involving the then chief justice and his son.
