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In a major statewide blitz against corruption, the Karnataka Lokayukta Police carried out simultaneous raids at over 35 locations, unearthing undeclared assets worth 31.11 crore from eight government officers.
The coordinated anti-graft operation, executed on June 16, targeted the residential premises, offices, and relatives' houses of officials booked under disproportionate assets (DA) cases. The crackdown spanned multiple districts, with cases registered across Bengaluru City, Bengaluru Rural, Davanagere, Kalaburagi, and Chikkamagaluru. According to the Lokayukta, the recovered wealth comprises immovable properties valued at 22.73 crore and movable assets worth 8.38 crore. According to the officials, among the tainted officials, Rajanna S.L., Additional Director of Town Planning at the Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) in Bengaluru, topped the chart with total assets worth 4.97 crore. Searches at five locations linked to him revealed three residential sites, two houses, three acres of agricultural land, and 70 lakh worth of gold and silver jewellery. In Kalaburagi, Public Works Department (PWD) Superintendent Engineer Manik S. Kanakatte was found holding assets totalling 4.68 crore, including five sites, three houses, a commercial complex, and 50 lakh sitting in bank savings. The raids also exposed a massive accumulation of wealth by forest department officials. Harshavardhan P.N., Deputy Conservator of Forests in Bengaluru Rural, amassed properties worth 4.85 crore, while K.S. Mohan, Assistant Conservator of Forests in Chikkamagaluru, was found in possession of assets worth 3.62 crore, including seven acres of agricultural land, as per the officials. In Davanagere, Siddeshwar N. Hebbal, Chief Mechanical Engineer at the NWKRTC, was found with assets worth 3.76 crore, which surprisingly included 37 lakh in liquid cash and a staggering 1.23 crore in gold and silver. Other officials trapped in the Lokayukta net include: Uday Kumar M.B. (Asst. Executive Engineer, BESCOM, Bengaluru): Seized assets worth 3.54 crore, including 10 residential sites. Sanna Kenchappa (Superintendent Engineer, KRIDL, Davanagere): Seized assets worth 2.97 crore, including 31 acres of agricultural land. Krishna Naik L.A. (Secretary, Bayaluseeme Area Development Board, Davanagere): Seized assets worth 2.70 crore, including seven sites and three houses. The Lokayukta administration stated that the simultaneous operations were initiated following detailed preliminary inquiries and complaints regarding illegal wealth accumulation far beyond the known, legitimate sources of income of these officers. The anti-corruption agency added that physical verification of documents, scanning of financial transactions, and opening of bank lockers are currently underway, and further penal action will be taken based on the final evidence compiled. (ANI)
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