Sivakumar's post triggered angry reactions on social media. Several people narrated similar experiences.
Published Oct 29, 2025 | 7:04 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 29, 2025 | 7:04 PM
Sivakumar said he had to grease many palms after the death of his "only child". (Representation image/iStock)
Synopsis: Former CFO of BPCL shared his experience on LinkedIn, saying he had to heed to the bribe demands of several people after his only child’s death.
A LinkedIn post alleging insensitiveness and corruption in Bengaluru’s public systems has sparked a nationwide outcry, after the user narrated how he had to grease many palms after the death of his “only child”.
The user, Sivakumar K, whose LinkedIn bio identified him as the former Chief Financial Officer of Bharat Petroleum Corporation, shared his traumatic experience after her daughter, Akshaya Sivakumar, died on 18 September 2025, aged 34.
Akshaya, a B.Tech from IIT-Madras and an MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad, reportedly passed away at her residence following a brain haemorrhage.
Sivakumar said the ambulance guy demanded ₹5,000 for taking Akshaya from a hospital in Kasavanahalli to St John’s Hospital in Koramangala, a distance of under 10 km. It was just the beginning for the grieving father, his post revealed.
The personnel at the Belandur police station were rude, Sivakumar noted. “Police were so rude, especially the inspector, when his juniors said we can go ahead with the post-mortem,” the post read.
He alleged that the police demanded money for registering an FIR and the post-mortem report. He said the place where the cash changed hands had no CCTV cameras.
The police, he said, reportedly changed their tone only after the intervention of his former employer.
At the crematorium, too, he had to grease greedy palms for the receipt. The BBMP office, which he visited five times for his daughter’s death certificate, too, was no different.
“I paid,” the hapless man posted.
Sivakumar then asked a pertinent question: “I had money, I paid. What will the poor do?” Authorities are yet to respond to the bereaved father.
The man also wondered if influential leaders like NR Narayana Murthy, Azim Premji and Kiran Mazumdar-Shah could step in to reform the city’s system. “They talk a lot, but…,” he left it incomplete.
South First has not independently verified Sivakumar’s accusations.
Sivakumar’s post triggered angry reactions on social media. Several people narrated similar experiences.
Ravi Handa, who goes by the handle @ravihanda on X, said, “Stuff like this makes you lose faith in humanity.”
Another user, Prashant (@kamchorbaba), claimed he knew a case of a person dying by suicide and the police threatening the family that one of them would be charged with murder if they did not pay up.
GoPal (@_GopalSir) sounded helpless. “He’s a BPCL employee, a PSU. The system didn’t even spare him,” he posted.
Abhishek R (@aramanujaa) said he, too, had to pay bribes. “After my dad’s funeral, I was asked to pay to get the death certificate. It’s a common practice; the guys who fish out the ashes also expect tips. Getting the legal heir certificate is even more humiliating. Thank God we are blessed, the poor have no option [sic],” he said.
Mahesh (@1by2chai) was blunt. “Cradle to Cemetery, we cannot avoid corruption. These guys see deaths every day, they carry dead bodies every day, mortuary guys deal with dead bodies every day, so they are not emotional.”
Some netizens demanded moving the process of applying for issuing birth and death certificates online.
Soumya (@Soumya_Ray) said most states have moved birth and death registration online. “This means ZERO bribes. This should be followed by every state.”
