Karnataka Lokayukta raid on 17 officials reveals total assets valued at Rs 37.9 crore

The Karnataka Lokayukta police on Monday held massive search operations against 17 government officials in different parts of the state. The raids, which found total assets, movable and immovable, valued at Rs 37.9 crore, were held in Bengaluru, Tumakuru, Mandya, Chitradurga, Udupi, Hassan, Ballary, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Belagavi and Haveri in more than 69 places linked to the officials.

"The searches were held simultaneously in the residences, offices and residences of the relatives of the accused government officers," the Lokayukta said in a statement.

In Bengaluru, the sleuths raided three properties belonging to Chandrappa K B, a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Assistant Revenue Officer (ARO) in the Hegganahalli sub-division of the Dasarahalli zone and 10 places belonging to Srinivas S R, Deputy Director, Boilers and Factories, Davanagere and in charge of Mysuru and Shivamogga.

The officials found total assets worth Rs 2.15 crore from Chandrappa and assets valued at Rs 2.89 crore from Srinivas. The Lokayukta said that Chandrappa’s disproportionate assets were 156.09 per cent more than his legal wealth, while those of Srinivas were 290 per cent.

13 officials’ disproportionate assets over 100%

Apart from Chandrappa and Srinivas, 11 other officials raided by Lokayukta had disproportionate assets of more than 100 per cent, the Lokayukta said.

Officials found that the disproportionate assets of Shashikumar T M, executive engineer, town planning, presently Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) in Bengaluru, were 322 per cent. The total value of movable and immovable assets in Mandya owned by Shashikumar was 6.65 crore.

Other accused with disproportionate assets over 100% were: M P Nagendra Naika, Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF), in-charge Deputy Conservator Of Forests (DCF), Forest Department, Chitradurga (201.02%); Sharanappa Patted, project director, Nirmithi Kendra, Shakthinagara, Raichur (129.6%); K Manjunath, revenue officer, tahshildar's office, Ballari (122.28%); H Rajesh, assistant commissioner, commercial tax department, Udupi (143.66%); Tippangouda Annadani, executive engineer, KBJNL (awaiting posting) (161.7%); Basavaraj, Range Forest Officer (RFO), Bidar, (155.8%); Parameshwarappa Hanumanthappa Pelannavar and RFO, Aranya Jalanayana Adhikari, office of the Joint Director Agriculture, Haveri (170.77%).

Seventeen disproportionate assets cases against the officials searched on Monday were registered at the respective jurisdictional Lokayukta police stations, the ombudsman said.