School official caught accepting bribe of Rs 5 lakhs

Mangaluru: Lokayukta officials apprehended the coordinator at an aided school while accepting a bribe.

The arrested has been identified as Jyothi N Poojary, the coordinator of Niranjan Swamy Aided Higher Primary School. She was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 5 Lakhs, police said.

Shobha Rani, who had served at the school for 4 decades as a teacher and head teacher, was to retire soon. Jyothi had allegedly demanded money from the head teacher for completing the paperwork required for pension-related work.

On May 25, 2023, Shobha Rani formally requested Jyothi N Poojary, in writing, to sign her pension documents and forward them to the block education officer for approval. However, Jyothi N Poojary neither acknowledged the application nor took any action.  Jyothi N Poojary reportedly demanded an exorbitant bribe of Rs 20 lakh for processing the pension documents, police said.

Desperate to resolve the matter, Shobha Rani visited Jyothi N Poojary’s residence on July 5, 2023, once again to request her assistance in signing and forwarding the crucial documents. However, the corrupt school coordinator persistently demanded a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from Shobha Rani.

On Friday, July 7, Jyothi was caught red-handed by the Lokayukta sleuths while accepting the bribe of Rs 5 lakhs, Lokayukta police said in a press release.