4 min readBengaluruAug 15, 2026 01:22 PM IST
Highlighting the dominance of the underworld over Bengaluru’s garbage contract system, a city garbage contractor has filed a police complaint alleging that he was being threatened by a gangster lodged in a Belagavi prison to surrender a contract he had bagged.
In his complaint to the Banashankari police on August 10, contractor Imran Anjum, 36, alleged that he was threatened by Grace Walter Joseph, a member of the Wilson Garden Naga gang lodged in Hindalga prison in a 2023 murder case, to give up a garbage contract he had been awarded for the Padmanabhanagar region.
According to the complaint, Anjum received a call on June 2 from a number linked to Joseph’s Instagram account. The caller claimed to be in Hindalga jail and initially demanded that Rs 30,000 per month be paid to his Bengaluru associate, identified as Prajwal.
Anjum was allegedly warned that he would be killed and his family would not find his dead body if he refused the deal. After he said that he could not afford to pay the amount, the gangster’s associates allegedly called him to a meeting at the Banashankari office of an acquaintance, identified as Harish.
At the meeting, Harish allegedly told Anjum to hand over the garbage contract to one of his associates, identified as Jayanth. When Anjum refused, Prajwal and Jayanth arrived at the office, and one of them called Joseph in prison. On the phone, a person who identified himself as Joseph allegedly abused Anjum and warned him of dire consequences, including an attack on his home, the complaint states.
Anjum alleged that he felt that he was being followed since his refusal to give up the contract and has sought police protection.
The Banashankari police, who initially took up the threat complaint as a non-cognisable report, subsequently registered a First Information Report on the directions of a local court under sections for criminal intimidation and threat of breach of peace under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
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Who is Grace Walter Joseph?
Gangster Grace Walter Joseph is known to be associated with Wilson Garden Naga, a key underworld operative in south Bengaluru who is also in jail. Naga and Joseph are accused in the August 4, 2023, murder of a rival south Bengaluru gangster, Mahesh N alias Siddapura Mahesh, who was hacked to death in plain public view barely 15 minutes after he was released from prison.
On August 11, 2023, several members of the Naga gang, including Joseph, were arrested for the Siddapura police murder. Two weeks after the murder, on August 18, Naga surrendered before a court. The August 4, 2023, murder was a part of alleged efforts by the Naga gang to establish its dominance in south Bengaluru, according to police sources.
Garbage contracts: Revenue for gangsters?
The garbage contract system in Bengaluru is widely perceived as being operated by underworld operatives through their henchmen with the alleged tacit support of local MLAs and the police. Garbage contracts, which run into crores, are an alleged key revenue source for local dons.
“Gangsters have a hold on the slums where most voters are located in every constituency. The politicians want the votes so they offer protection to the big gangsters and access to contracts for garbage collection, liquor vending, construction activities, gambling and betting. This is the parallel system that is working in the city,” a police official said.
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With large numbers of unemployed youth in the poorer areas of the city, there is a large pool of youngsters finding their way into gangs, resulting in a steady supply of manpower. “It is often open season for gangsters since the police stations will invariably be under the thumb of the MLA,” a veteran police official familiar with the situation said.
Anjum’s complaint has come at a time when the Karnataka prison department has been attempting to tighten vigil over prisoners following multiple instances of VIP treatment for prisoners, including phone usage and special privileges in some of the barracks.
