Bengaluru, July 8: The Karnataka Lokayukta Police on Tuesday carried out a massive statewide operation in connection with disproportionate assets (DA) cases registered against 10 government officials, conducting simultaneous searches at more than 53 locations across Karnataka.
According to the Lokayukta, the searches were carried out at the residences, offices and properties of relatives of the accused officials in Bengaluru City (3 cases), Chitradurga (2), Kalaburagi (1), Bengaluru South (1), Shivamogga (1), Raichur (1) and Tumakuru (1).
During the searches, investigators unearthed immovable assets worth ₹379.53 crore and movable assets worth ₹118.81 crore, taking the total value of assets detected to ₹498.34 crore.
Bengaluru City
Narendra Kumar M, Assistant Engineer, PWD Division-1, K.R. Circle, Bengaluru: Lokayukta searched four locations and found three houses, four acres of agricultural land valued at ₹5.95 crore, along with cash, gold and silver ornaments, vehicles, fixed deposits and other valuables worth ₹2.56 crore.
Praveen Srihari B, Superintendent Engineer, KRIDL, Bengaluru: Searches at five locations led to the detection of two sites, two houses and 11 acres of agricultural land worth ₹4.60 crore, besides cash, jewellery and vehicles valued at ₹1.28 crore.
Pushpa D.R., Additional Director (Administration), Agricultural Marketing Board, Bengaluru: Searches at five premises resulted in the detection of one site, three houses, one commercial building and agricultural land valued at ₹7.38 crore, along with cash, jewellery and vehicles worth ₹78.22 lakh.
Chitradurga
Duggappa B.H., Range Forest Officer, Watershed Development Department: Searches at three places revealed three sites, one house and agricultural land valued at ₹1.52 crore, besides cash, jewellery, vehicles and other valuables worth ₹43.51 lakh.
Shankara M., Associate Professor (Agricultural Engineering), Horticulture Department: Lokayukta teams searched six locations and found one site, two houses and over eight acres of agricultural land worth ₹1.71 crore, in addition to cash, jewellery, vehicles and other assets valued at ₹1.56 crore.
Kalaburagi
Amruth Rao, Assistant Executive Engineer (Electrical), GESCOM: Searches at seven locations uncovered three sites, two houses, one flat, two commercial complexes and agricultural land valued at ₹2.84 crore, along with cash, jewellery, bank deposits, vehicles and other movable assets worth ₹1.15 crore.
Bengaluru South
Thimmaiah, PDO, Kumbalagodu Gram Panchayat: Searches at seven locations revealed two sites, four houses and over four acres of agricultural land worth ₹2.53 crore, besides gold, silver and vehicles valued at ₹1.19 crore.
Shivamogga
Kiran Angadi, Assistant Conservator of Forest, Forest Department: Searches at five locations led to the detection of one house and one acre of agricultural land worth ₹1.53 crore, along with cash, jewellery, vehicles and other valuables worth ₹42.36 lakh.
Raichur
Basanagouda Patil, Executive Engineer, KBJNL: Searches at seven premises resulted in the seizure of details relating to five sites, four houses and 92 acres of agricultural land worth ₹8.28 crore, besides cash, jewellery, vehicles, bank savings and fixed deposits valued at ₹1.16 crore.
Among all the officials searched, Basanagouda Patil was found to possess the highest-value immovable assets, according to the Lokayukta’s preliminary assessment.
Tumakuru
Madhusudan N., Assistant Engineer, Minor Irrigation Department: Searches at five locations revealed three sites and one house valued at ₹1.63 crore, along with cash, jewellery and vehicles worth ₹1.33 crore.
The Karnataka Lokayukta said the searches were conducted as part of ongoing investigations into disproportionate assets cases registered against the officials. The evidence and documents collected during the searches will now be examined as the investigation progresses.
The agency added that further legal action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation and verification of the assets recovered during the raids.
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