Liquor bottles seized during the inspection.
Credit: Lokayukta office
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Lokayukta uncovered ganja, several bottles of liquor and approximately Rs 2 lakh in unaccounted-for cash during inspections of 62 excise offices across Bengaluru on Tuesday.
The raids were initiated after Lokayukta Justice B S Patil issued search warrants. Justice Patil personally inspected the excise office in Byatarayanapura, while Upa Lokayukta Justice B Veerappa led the inspection at the Yeshwantpur office.
“Around 250 grams of ganja was seized from the Byatarayanapura office and 200 grams from the Yeshwantpur office,” a Lokayukta source told DH. “Notices will be issued to the officials concerned for a written explanation, as no satisfactory oral explanation was provided.”
A statement from the Lokayukta stated that 132 cases of maladministration across various excise offices in the state are currently under investigation.
Several pending applications were also discovered during the inspections.
"Some files have been seized for further evaluation. One of the primary allegations is that files don’t move without bribes, leading to widespread corruption, which triggered this inspection," Justice Patil told the media.