CHIKKAMAGALURU: A kidnapped man has filed a police complaint alleging that Chikkamagaluru Deputy Superintendent of Police Kallappa Handibag, who was found hanging at Murgod near Belagavi on Monday, took a bribe of Rs 10 lakh for his release on June 28.
The victim, Tejas Gowda, who has filed the complaint at the Basavanahalli police station, claims that the ransom was paid to Kallappa at the behest of Vishwa Hindu Parishad Chikkamagaluru district convener Khandya Praveen.
A seven-member gang, led by one Abhijeet, kidnapped Tejas near his house around 2 am on June 28. The kidnappers threatened him at knifepoint and took him in a car to a godown in an undisclosed location in Bengaluru.
Abhijeet and his accomplices threatened Tejas not to scream and switched off his mobile phone. Then the demand for the money began. The kidnappers wanted Rs 25 lakh, but Tejas brought it down to Rs 10 lakh after much haggling. The moment he agreed to pay the ransom, Tejas was shifted to another location, where Khandya Praveen too was present, the complaint states.
After instructions, Tejas contacted his friend Shivu and requested him to arrange for Rs 10 lakh. Shivu got the money and handed it over to one Pavan, who was given a mobile phone number (9480805120) to pass it on.
The mobile belonged to the now deceased Kallappa Handibag, who received the cash from Pavan near the police quarters on Indira Gandhi Road of the city, the complaint states.
Once the money was paid, the gang released Tejas near Empire Hotel at Gandhi Nagar in Bengaluru around 10.15 pm. Tejas filed a police complaint on July 4.
Meanwhile, Khandya Praveen and other accused in the case are absconding and the police are on the lookout.
After officer’s suicide, family alleges harassment
Mystery shrouds the suicide of Chikkamagaluru Deputy Superintendent of Police Kallappa Handibag as his family members alleged that he was harassed by his higher-ups. But the Belagavi police, who registered a case of suicide, said the family did not make any specific allegations against anybody in their complaint.
His close friends, who accompanied the body to KLE Hospital and Research Centre in Belagavi where the postmortem was conducted after his suicide at Murgod, near Belagavi, said that he was under intense mental pressure after his suspension from the service.
Kallappa, who was among 25 DySPs who joined the force in 2012, had also worked as a section officer at the Chief Electoral Office in Bengaluru for two years before joining the police service. Belagavi SP Ravi Kanthegowda said that a suicide case has been registered at the Murgod police station.
Kallappa hanged himself at 8.30 am on Tuesday in a bedroom on the first floor of the house. He was rushed to KLE Hospital and Research Centre, but was declared brought dead. The officer is survived by his wife Vidya and a two-year-old son.
