Lokayukta Justice BS Patil (centre) during the inspection at the excise office in Byatarayanapura.
Credit: Lokayukta
Bengaluru: The Lokayukta inspection of the 62 excise offices in Bengaluru on Tuesday has further revealed irregularities.
According to a statement shared on Wednesday, when the officials arrived at the Koramangala excise office, a person ran away with the attendance register and the cash-declaration register. When questioned, the officers denied any knowledge about the said person.
At the same office, it was found that officials had appointed a private person, who was being paid Rs 20,000 per month via PhonePe.
At the Ramamurthy Nagar excise office, sleuths found a bag filled with ganja and several liquor bottles. “When asked, officials said that they were of pending cases. However, no supporting documents were produced.”
At the Chandapura office in Bengaluru, it was found that one of the officials had declared Rs 500 but was found possessing Rs 9,500 cash. “The cash-declaration register was edited to show the sum as Rs 9,500 from Rs 500,” the statement said.
The Lokayukta also found that four excise inspectors had appointed four private persons, who were being paid Rs 18,000 to Rs 20,000 per month. A driver appointed by them was being paid Rs 18,000.
At the same office, officials also discover around 100 tetra packs of alcohol.
At the Yelahanka-Gokula excise office, Lokayukta officials found that the excise inspector was absent despite signing the attendance register. “He wasn’t available on call and arrived at the office at around 5.15 pm,” the Lokayukta statement said.
Officials also found improper maintenance of the movement register and that a private person on the payroll of the excise inspector possessed Rs 9,500 unaccounted-for cash.
At the Banashankari excise office, the sleuths found private persons being appointed as computer operators by the excise inspector, who was paying them their salary. “In their possession, officials found Rs 3,810, Rs 1,120 and Rs 5,000 without any explanation,” the Lokayukta said.
Lokayukta officials found several other irregularities, including problems with issuing licenses. “Prima facie, it was found that money taken from the public to complete work would be transferred to outside contract workers. A process of transferring from the public to their accounts was also found,” the statement said.