Gym Trainer Arrested for Extorting KAS Officer in Bengaluru South
The Karnataka Police have arrested a man for allegedly drugging, stripping, and assaulting a Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) officer at his residence in Bengaluru South district, before filming him in a compromising position to extort Rs 10 lakh. The arrest of the suspect, Anush Shivappa, was announced on Wednesday following a complaint filed by the victim, B N Girish, on July 1.
Shivappa, a 34-year-old gym trainer from Chamarajanagar district who works in Mysuru, has been sent to judicial custody. The police are currently searching for his two suspected accomplices, identified as Shobharaj and Naveen, who were also named in the complaint.
According to the police, the incident took place in the early hours of June 29. Shivappa, who had befriended Girish on Facebook while the officer was serving as a tahsildar in Mysuru, contacted him late on June 28. Shivappa claimed he was travelling from Mysuru to Bengaluru and wanted to stop by the officer's house to shoot a promotional video.
Shivappa, along with Shobharaj and Naveen, arrived at Girish's Bengaluru South residence around 2 am on June 29. Although Girish was initially reluctant, the men persuaded him to let them drink alcohol inside the house. Shivappa then gave Girish a glass of orange juice, which made him feel drowsy.
Girish reported that he regained consciousness around 5 am to find himself naked. He was allegedly slapped, hit on the legs, and filmed on camera by the accused.
The perpetrators threatened to leak the video on social media unless Girish paid Rs 10 lakh within 24 hours. They also stole an 8-gram gold ring valued at Rs 50,000 and a 14-gram gold chain valued at Rs 1,20,000 from the officer, before dropping him off at the Channapatna government hospital around 7:15 am.
Police investigators revealed that Shivappa hatched the extortion plot to cover losses from a failed chit business. The Channapatna town police have booked Shivappa under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for attempt to murder, voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint, common intention, extortion, and criminal intimidation.
