Bangalore tops India bribery char

BANGALORE: There's nothing hide-and-seek about paying or accepting bribes in government offices, and if you are in a sub-registrar's den, be ready to part with a fat service charge. In Bangalore, this is where the biggest bribes are paid, whether to register property or get a marriage certificate. Their monthly income from bribes is easily a cool Rs 3 crore.

In fact, Bangalore has sped ahead of other cities to top the chart and leads the tally on the website (www.ipaidabribe.com) with 259 bribe reports about the revenue department alone. It scores from among 200 cities, followed by Mumbai, Chennai and Pune.

The High Court's searing condemnation on Wednesday seals its reputation, that "all land acquisition officers and sub-registrars are corrupt. Barring a few exceptions, all special DCs in Bangalore are corrupt to the core''. There are 33 sub-registrar offices across Bangalore Urban limits.