Former journalist arrested over ‘extortion bid’ on 3 police inspectors in Bengaluru

Both accused were arrested following interrogation, police said. (representational image)

A 35-year-old former journalist was arrested on Monday for allegedly trying to extort Rs 15 lakh from three police inspectors in Bengaluru over the recent drug seizure made by Maharashtra’s Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), the Bengaluru City Police, and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Karnataka.

Along with Sharath Sharma Kalagaru, a resident of Windsor Layout in Bengaluru, the police have also booked the owner of BTV Kannada, a news channel, and its reporter in the extortion case.

According to a complaint filed by Bagalur police sub-inspector Ramesh Bandrada, Sharath allegedly called him over the phone on December 28 and claimed that he had information and evidence that the inspectors of the Kothanur, Avalahalli, and Bagaluru police stations—Chethan Kumar, Ramakrishna Reddy, and Srinivas—had colluded with drug peddlers.

According to the FIR, Sharath threatened that the “news” would be aired on a news channel and demanded Rs 5 lakh from each police inspector to prevent its broadcast, which could result in their suspension.

Incidentally, all three inspectors named by Sharath were suspended on Monday, days after the drug bust in Bengaluru, for failing to gather intelligence despite being part of the police’s community outreach initiative Mane Manege Police.

Ramesh Bandrada, who was in communication with Sharath, recorded WhatsApp calls made by Sharath and also took screenshots of his WhatsApp messages.

After collecting evidence, the police registered an FIR against Sharath, the BTV Kannada owner, and its reporter on Monday under section 308 (6) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with punishment for whoever puts or attempts to put any person in fear of injury for the purpose of extortion.

Sharath was produced before a court on Tuesday and remanded in police custody for two days. For its part, BTV Kannada said in a Facebook post that Sharath was not its employee, and urged the public to approach the police if they had received any extortion threat in the name of the channel from him. The channel also said it had filed a police complaint against Sharath.

The Mumbai Police, Maharashtra’s ANTF, the Bengaluru City Police, and NCB last week conducted raids in several parts of Karnataka and seized illegal drugs worth Rs 1.2 crore in Bengaluru.