Karnataka Lokayukta conducted extensive raids on Wednesday at locations linked to eight government officers accused of accumulating assets disproportionate to their known sources of income. The raids targeted residences and offices across Bengaluru and other parts of the state.
Among those under scrutiny is Shobha, Joint Commissioner of the Transport Department in Bengaluru, along with Kadur Health and Family Welfare Officer Dr SN Umesh and Ravindra, an Inspector in the Minor Irrigation Department based in Basavakalyan, as per a report on PTI.
Other officials facing raids include Khanapur Tehsildar Prakash Sridhar Gaekwad, retired Road Transport Officer from Tumakuru S Raju, Assistant Executive Engineer of Gadag Municipality Huchesh alias Huchappa, Welfare Officer in the Backward Class Department in Ballari RH Lokesh and Huliraja, a Junior Engineer at BESCOM in Raichur.
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The Lokayukta sleuths initiated simultaneous searches early in the day covering multiple locations to uncover evidence of alleged financial irregularities.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at the offices of Engineer-in-Chief B.S. Prahlad and other engineers of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The investigation pertained to the installation of borewells and Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants in areas lacking Cauvery water connections, according to sources within the civic agency.
The raids were initiated following a complaint by BJP leader and former BBMP Councillor N.R. Ramesh to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which subsequently referred the case to the ED.
Shivakumar told reporters, as per PTI, "It's an internal fight in the BJP. A BJP leader had given a complaint against his own party MLAs because he was denied a ticket (to contest assembly election). We will cooperate with them. There is nothing wrong in it. I don't know the details but officers yesterday told me about it."