Shivamogga: Lokayukta police took into custody Siddalinga Reddy, a KAS officer serving as the special land acquisition officer (SLAO) for National Highway-206, and a village assistant, on charges of demanding a bribe.The operation followed a complaint by Keshavamurthy, a resident of Otigatta village, who leased his car to the SLAO office for the past two years. The KAS officer earlier served as Shivamogga additional deputy commissioner.According to the Lokayukta official press release on Saturday, Siddalinga Reddy allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 40,000 to release the rental cheque for Nov 2025.Acting on the officer’s instructions, Rajesh, a village assistant from the Holalur Nada Kacheri, met the complainant near Shivamogga’s Nehru Stadium on Feb 14 evening, allegedly to collect the cash. Lokayukta police caught Rajesh and subsequently took Siddalinga Reddy into custody for questioning, said Lokayukta superintendent of police MS Kaulapure.The operation was led by Lokayukta DSP BP Chandrashekhar, along with Lokayukta inspectors KP Rudresh, Gururaj Mylar, Veerabasappa L Kusalapur, the press note stated. Rudresh said the KAS officer and the village assistant were taken into custody.
