Karnataka government orders ACB probe into Sasikala prison bribery charges

The Karnataka government on Thursday ordered the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to probe allegations that former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary VK Sasikala had bribed officials of the Bengaluru central prison to obtain preferential treatment.

In a controversial report, former deputy inspector general (prisons) Roopa D Moudgal had alleged that a bribe of Rs 2 crore was paid to senior prison officials, including former director general (prisons) HN Sathyanarayana Rao. Rao had denied the allegations and filed a defamation case against Moudgal. Following an uproar over the report, a probe had been ordered by the government and both Moudgal and Rao had been transferred out of the prisons department. Speaking to HT, Karnataka home minister Ramalinga Reddy said the ACB had been asked to conduct the probe following recommendations made to the government by a committee headed by retired IAS officer Vinay Kumar.