Bengaluru man says he had to bribe police, BBMP for daughter's death certificate. Chief responds

''The inspector of Bellandur police station was so arrogant, with no empathy to a father who lost his only child. Very sad state. I had money, I paid. What will the poor do?' Sivakumar K wrote on LinkedIn. (AI-generated image)

A retired senior public sector executive has alleged that he was forced to pay bribes at multiple levels of Bengaluru’s civic and law enforcement machinery following the sudden death of his only child. Sivakumar K, former Chief Financial Officer of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), shared his ordeal in a series of emotional LinkedIn posts that have since gone viral.

Sivakumar lost his 34-year-old daughter to a brain haemorrhage on September 18. “Recently, my only child passed away at age 34. The amount of open bribe being asked—by ambulance, police for FIR and post-mortem report, crematorium for giving receipt, BBMP office for death certificate—I paid," he shared on LinkedIn. "The inspector of Bellandur police station was so arrogant, with no empathy to a father who lost his only child. Very sad state. I had money, I paid. What will the poor do?”

He shared his story in response to a separate LinkedIn post by a senior investment banker who had criticised Bengaluru’s crumbling infrastructure and systemic inefficiencies after moving to the city from NCR.

In an earlier post, Sivakumar had paid tribute to his daughter, Akshaya, an IIT and IIM alumna with a passion for quizzing, origami, and painting. She was active on social media through her handles @Akshayas90 and @Akshayaasks, where she regularly posted quiz questions. “She wanted to dedicate her life by retiring early for the blind,” the grieving father wrote. “I feel by donating her eyes, that journey has already started.”

Responding to the viral post, Bengaluru’s Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao told Moneycontrol:

“We sympathise and have created a system to ensure death certificates are issued online. Our corporation is committed to ensure that the bereaved are treated with courtesy and respect.”

The incident has reignited public debate over corruption in civic services and the treatment of grieving families.