Man arrested for blackmailing council official in Karnataka

A 21-year-old man, Channakeshava Reddy, was arrested by Gouribidanur police for blackmailing a municipal council official. He posed as a Lokayukta officer and threatened the official with raids unless he received money. The arrest followed a complaint filed in May 2024. Police tracked Reddy down after 10 months. His associate, Dhanush Reddy, is still at large. Reddy has a history of similar offenses, including incidents in Mangaluru last year. He contacted officials via WhatsApp, threatening corruption charges and demanding money to drop the cases.