Bengaluru ex-deputy commissioner shares common barrack with criminals

Bengaluru: Former Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner and senior IAS officer J. Manjunath, who was arrested on charges of corruption, has been lodged in a common barrack along with other criminals in the central prison of Parappana Agrahara here, sources said on Wednesday.

Usually, senior officers and VIP's are given special barracks and kept away from the other prison inmates. The jail authorities have given him the prisoner number 6773. Manjunath had been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.

Prison sources said senior Manjunath was sharing a barrack with Nigerian drug peddlers and other accused charged with criminal offences.

He has been given jail food and the authorities have not allowed food from outside or his home. The authorities have been instructed to strictly follow rules as the High Court is monitoring the development closely. Sources also said that Manjunath, who has been lodged in the prison since Monday late night, is not able to sleep in the prison barrack.

Meanwhile, the search operations conducted in the residence of Manjunath have revealed that the suspended officer amassed wealth and property in the name of his relatives. The officers got documents related to 30 acres of land in Bengaluru Rural district, sources said.

Manjunath has been arrested in a graft case following the raid by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Bengaluru Urban District Commissioner Office. Two officers were caught red handed while receiving Rs 5 lakh bribe.

Initially, the ACB did not book Manjunath. The High Court Bench rapped ACB for taking action against the junior officers only. The court also made biting remarks on the functioning of the government with tainted officers.

Manjunath was arrested after a High Court bench judge stated that he had been threatened with transfer in connection with the case. On Tuesday, he was suspended from his job.