A 31-year-old man, Dhananjaya Reddy Thota, from Karnataka's Mangaluru, was arrested for impersonating a Lokayukta officer and attempting to extort money through WhatsApp. 

According to a report by news agency PTI, Thota is accused of impersonating a Lokayukta officer and contacting Purushottam, a panchayat officer. Thota allegedly demanded money from Purushottam in exchange for "settling" a fabricated corruption case.

Suspicious of the caller's identity, Purushottam alerted the authorities, which led to an investigation. Tracing the call, the police tracked it to Andhra Pradesh, where Thota was arrested on Saturday. 

A preliminary investigation into the matter revealed that Thota had no connections to the Lokayukta and was using the scam to manipulate officials by instilling fear of legal consequences. 

The Ullal police are now probing whether Thota was involved in similar fraudulent activities in other regions. Thota was arrested and further investigation into the matter is underway. 

In another incident, a 45-year-old real estate agent from Bengaluru identified as Anand Kumar, was arrested for impersonating a relative of the Upa Lokayukta to pressure a deputy Tahsildar into prioritizing property registration work. 

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The arrest came following a complaint filed by the deputy registrar of the Lokayukta. Kumar is now facing charges including impersonation, cheating, and using criminal force to obstruct public servants in the performance of their duties. The incident was reported by Anekal police.

On December 10, Anand reached out to Kariya Naik, the deputy Tahsildar, claiming to be both a relative of the Upa Lokayukta and an employee of the Lokayukta office. He instructed Naik to fast-track the registration of a one-acre property, belonging to an individual named Babu, in someone else's name.

Meanwhile, a Bengaluru woman was duped of Rs 30 lakh by online scammers impersonating themselves as officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Mumbai police. The 46-year-old woman in Indiranagar of Bengaluru fell into their trap, as the scammers had a setup similar to the police stations, and they also carried fake identity cards with them.