Bengaluru: A special court for Lokayukta cases granted anticipatory bail to police inspector Raghavendra, who allegedly evaded investigators for weeks after escaping a Lokayukta raid at Yelahanka New Town police station in a bribery case.The case dates back to Sept 18, when Lokayukta sleuths raided the station and Raghavendra and constable Parashuram allegedly slipped away as the operation unfolded. The raid followed allegations that the two demanded Rs 2 lakh from a person to file a B report, which closes a case on the ground that there is no evidence to investigate.The complainant said he had already paid Rs 1.8 lakh and approached Lokayukta after Parashuram repeatedly called him for the remaining Rs 20,000. Seeking anticipatory bail, Raghavendra’s counsel described the complaint as false and said the inspector had never demanded or received a bribe. He said Raghavendra was willing to abide by any conditions and ready to cooperate with the investigation.Opposing the plea, the public prosecutor argued that the complainant had met Raghavendra with the money on Sept 18 and that the inspector directed him to hand it over to Parashuram.The raid was conducted after the constable allegedly received the cash, but both men escaped. The prosecution further alleged that Raghavendra visited an apparel shop in Yeshwantpur, changed his clothes and went into hiding.Granting bail, special judge Vijeth V noted that no tainted currency notes had been recovered from Raghavendra. Moreover, the prosecution itself alleged that the illegal gratification was received by Parashuram and not the inspector.The judge observed that the conversations mentioned in the panchanama did not directly show that Raghavendra had demanded or received any money, and that the genuineness of the audio recordings could be ascertained only during a full-fledged trial.The court also noted that Raghavendra is a serving police inspector with a permanent residence in Bengaluru, making the likelihood of his fleeing from justice very remote.
