FB 300: Karnataka Lokayukta police’s blundering robs 10 yrs of inspector’s life:- Manjunath was ‘trapped’ while taking a bribe and dismissed from service after a Lokayukta court found him guilty. But high court exonerates him after finding glaring lapses in investigation and testimony of witnesses. Posted On Thursday, June 06, 2013 at 01:46:59 AM Manjunath M, a 57-year-old inspector at Mysore’s Kuvempunagar police station, was allegedly caught red-handed by Lokayukta officials while taking a bribe in March 2003. A case was filed and in October 2010, the Lokayukta court in Mysore found the inspector guilty. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 15,000 was imposed. As a consequence, Manjunath was dismissed from service in January 2011. Ten years after Manjunath was first caught up in the ordeal, the High Court of Karnataka has exonerated him. The HC found glaring lapses on the part of the investigators in the case and inconsistencies in the testimony of witnesses. Had Manjunath’s services not been terminated, he would have been a superintendent of police by now, but he’s hopeful he would be reinstated and he will receive all promotions and benefits he had missed. “I suffered for no fault of mine,” he told Bangalore Mirror. “This case could have ruined my life. I’m thankful the court realised the inconsistencies and although justice was late, it is better late than never.” Manjunath’s ordeal began when he was asked by his seniors to look into a dispute between Dr Prakash, a resident of Bangalore, and Prasanna Kumar, a resident of Mysore. Prakash had filed a police complaint accusing Kumar of refusing to return a Rs 15 lakh loan he had advanced. Manjunath summoned Kumar to the station and asked him to repay the loan and to settle the issue with Prakash. Instead, Kumar filed a complaint with the Lokayukta police alleging Manjunath had demanded a bribe of Rs 15,000. Lokayukta sleuths then set a trap to nab Manjunath. Although the first plan to trap him at the station failed, another attempt was made on March 21, 2003, at the inspector’s residence. Sleuths claimed the trap was successful and a charge sheet was filed in 2005. The Lokayukta court began hearing the case in 2010 and on October 14, Manjunath was found guilty. He was discharged from service in January 2011 without being given any notice. Manjunath appealed the verdict in the high court. “The trial judge failed to take into account important legal aspects and convicted my client (Manjunath) on probability,” said C G Sunder, Manunath’s counsel. “This contention was upheld by Justice Anand Byrareddy of the HC and the appeal was allowed, eventually ending the 10-year agony of the police inspector.” Manjunath’s counsel based his arguments on three points: There was no valid sanction to prosecute the accused, a government official. Second, the tape used as evidence to prove ‘demand and acceptance’ of bribe was tested at the Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore and found to be fictitious. Manjunath’s voice samples did not match the voice on the tape. Further, the cash allegedly used to trap Manjunath was never recovered. Sunder claims that the Lokayukta court had convicted Manjunath on probability — that the bribe money could have been destroyed in the bathroom. The testimony of the panch witness (the investigating officer), complainant, shadow witness (defence witness) and another investigating official differed on the point of the bribe cash being handed over to Manjunath. “There were glaring inconsistencies and he was acquitted,” Sunder said. “I hope he is reinstated in service with all the consequential benefits.” bangaloremirror/article/10/2013060620130606014729283777e606/-Lokayukta-police%E2%80%99s-blundering-robs-10-yrs-of-inspector%E2%80%99s-life.html
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 04:35:55 +0000
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