Bribery demands at police, crematorium, BBMP: Ex-BPCL CFO's harrowing experience after daughter's death

Sivakumar K, former CFO of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, shared a deeply emotional post on LinkedIn on Tuesday, detailing his harrowing experience with Bangalore's corrupt systems after the tragic death of his only child.

His daughter, Akshaya Sivakumar, aged 34, died on September 18, 2025, due to a brain hemorrhage. What followed was an ordeal marked by bribery demands from various authorities, even as Sivakumar and his family were grieving.

Sivakumar recounted how, after his daughter's passing, he was forced to pay bribes at almost every step. "The ambulance driver demanded 3000 for taking her from one hospital to another. The police were rude, especially the inspector, who initially refused to allow a post-mortem," he wrote. "Then, fortunately, my ex-employer intervened, and the situation changed. The post-mortem was done, and her body was released for cremation."

However, the bribery demands continued even at the cremation ground. "They demanded money there, which we paid. Later, when I went to the police station for the FIR and post-mortem report, the police openly demanded cash," Sivakumar said. He also discovered a lack of CCTV cameras where the money was being exchanged. "Actually, the Sub inspector spoke so nicely and signed the above docs and gave me and told to meet his assistant where bribe is demanded," he added.

Sivakumar's ordeal didn't end there. Despite visiting the BBMP office daily for five days, he was told that no one was available due to the ongoing caste survey. It was only after approaching a senior BBMP official that he was issued a death certificate "after taking more money than the official DC charges". 
"What will the poor do?" he wondered.

As a 64-year-old man already suffering immense personal loss, Sivakumar expressed his frustration with Bangalore's systemic corruption. "Does the police have family or feelings to demand bribes and speak so rudely when the person is already in trauma?" he wrote. His post also raised a larger question: "Can Narayana Murthy, Azim Premji, and other big names with billions of money save this city from anarchy?" He questioned the effectiveness of institutional efforts to address such widespread corruption.

Sivakumar's post comes just over a month after an entrepreneur sparked national outrage by accusing Chennai Customs of harassment and bribery. Many others have since shared similar stories about being asked for bribes even for simple administrative tasks, such as obtaining birth and marriage certificates.