Mysuru, April 8 -- Initially, the bribe amount demanded by the CNNL officials - Executive Engineer Kaveri Ranganath and Accounts Superintendent Uma Mahesh - was Rs. 1,45,000, roughly 6 percent of the pending Rs. 23,10,000 bill.

However, the Executive Engineer and the Accounts Superintendent later allegedly insisted that contractor Abdul Aziz pay 10 percent, raising the demand to Rs. 2,31,000.

Accompanied by Lokayukta officers in plain clothes, Abdul Aziz visited the CNNL Office in Nanjangud and said, "I have brought Rs. 1,45,000 as you asked. Please issue the cheque for the pending bill." But the officials reportedly refused, demanding the full 10 percent - Rs. 2,31,000 - before releasing the payment.

After nearly 10 minutes of back-an...