'40% bribe' probe: Accuser never worked on project

Bengaluru: An investigation by the Karnataka Lokayukta police found no evidence to prove the “commission for contract” allegation levelled against the previous BJP government by a BBMP contractor, internal documents accessed by DH show.

The contractor, R Ambikapathy, who died in November 2023, had in an interview with an English TV channel, alleged that he had to pay bribes to officials of the BBMP’s East Zone and middlemen to secure a contract to build a playground.

However, Lokayukta’s investigation found that the contract for Rs 5.20 crore was instead awarded to one N M Krishnamoorthy. During questioning, Krishnamoorthy claimed that he had paid no bribes during the tender-securing process.

Examinations of the documents found that the contract was successfully executed, the investigators found.

Ambikapathy, was the president of a BBMP civil contractors’ association, had alleged that the commission for securing a contract with the city corporation went up to 50 per cent. Ambikapathy was also the vice president of the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association. 

This, among other allegations that a 40% commission was sought for work contracts in the state, had formed the centrepiece of the Congress’ campaign in the 2023 Assembly elections, which they won with a majority.

Further, Lokayukta investigations revealed that Ambikapathy had received no contracts in any BBMP zones for five years up to 2022 when he levelled the allegations.

“This was established after the investigators scoured the documents and reports submitted by the BBMP officials,” a Lokayukta source familiar with the investigation told DH.

The Lokayukta police’s investigating officer, in their final report submitted on July 24, also noted that since Ambikapathy died in 2023, they could not gather any information from him.

His son told the investigators that he was unaware of his father’s dealings. A month before he died, Ambikapathy had made national headlines after the Income Tax (IT) department had recovered over Rs 42 crore from premises belonging to him and his family during an inspection.