Man poses as Lokayukta official to blackmail forest officers in Bengaluru, held

The police recovered a fake Forest Department identity card from Murali, which he allegedly used to establish authority when dealing with officials. (Express photo/Special Arrangement)

The Bengaluru police on Monday arrested a 45-year-old man from Kolar who allegedly impersonated a Lokayukta official and used forged corruption complaints to threaten Forest Department officers and extort money from them.

B Murali, who claims to be a farmer, allegedly misused the formats and proformas used for filing Lokayukta complaints and primarily targeted Forest Department officials, the police said.

According to the police, Murali misused authentic Lokayukta complaint proformas—including affidavit formats—and altered the names and details of existing complaints to make it appear that fresh corruption charges were registered against targeted officers.

He then dispatched the forged documents alongside bogus official correspondence to the victims’ addresses. Shortly after, Murali would contact the officials, offering to “settle” or withdraw the non-existent complaints in exchange for payments ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 50,000.

The police have found that Murali has so far targeted at least three Forest Department officers.

How the racket was uncovered

The alleged fraud came to light when a Forest Department officer who received one such complaint cross-checked the details with the Lokayukta, which confirmed that no such case existed on record.

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“He was misusing the complaint proforma, including the affidavit and other formats used for Lokayukta complaints. He would change the officer’s name in an existing format and send it to another government officer, making it appear that a complaint had been filed against them. When the officials verified the complaint with the Lokayukta, there was no such complaint on record,” a police officer said.

During his arrest, the police recovered a fake Forest Department identity card from Murali, which he allegedly used to establish authority when dealing with officials.

Investigators are examining bank account trails used for the extortion money, which appear to be registered in a third party’s name.

Police have served a notice on the account holder for further questioning to determine their relationship with Murali and their alleged role in the transactions.

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The police are continuing their investigation to ascertain whether he had used the same modus operandi to target other government officers.