Lokayukta Police raid 37 locations across K’taka, seize over Rs 22.5 Cr worth of assets

Team Udayavani, Nov 13, 2024, 9:22 AM IST

In a major crackdown on corruption, Karnataka Lokayukta police carried out coordinated raids on Tuesday, targeting eight government officials across the state. A total of 37 locations were searched in districts such as Belagavi, Haveri, Davangere, Bidar, Mysuru, Ramanagara, and Dharwad, revealing assets exceeding ₹22.5 crore.

Among the seized assets, a retired KSRTC official from Ramanagara, Prakash V, was found to possess property worth ₹4.26 crore. Lokayukta police have filed cases against these officials, with investigations underway to probe the sources of their ill-gotten wealth.

Locations Raided

Raids were conducted in multiple districts, with the following key figures found to possess disproportionate wealth:

1. Vittal Shivappa Dhavaleshwar, Village Accountant, Boregaon, Belagavi District – ₹1.08 crore in assets, including cash, gold, and vehicles, across four locations.

2. Venkatesh S. Mujundar, Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Bengaluru – Assets worth ₹2.21 crore, including properties, cash, gold, and vehicles.

3. Kamala Raj, Assistant Director, Department of Commerce and Industry, Davangere – Assets valued at ₹1.99 crore, including land, houses, and gold jewelry.

4. Nagesh D., Public Relations Officer, Mysuru City Corporation – ₹2.72 crore worth of assets, including land, houses, gold, cash, and vehicles.

5. Govindappa Hanumantappa Bhajantri, Assistant Secretary, KIIDB, Dharwad – Assets valued at ₹2.79 crore, including land, houses, cash, and vehicles.

Details

– Vittal Dhavaleshwar, previously caught transporting ₹1.10 crore in cash illegally, had his residence and office raided. Unaccounted money was found at his rented home in Nipani.

– Kashinath, an Assistant Engineer at the Rural Drinking Water and Supply Department, was caught throwing ₹9 lakh out of a window during the raid. An additional ₹2 lakh was found hidden under his mattress.

The raids have uncovered substantial wealth linked to public officials, who are now under investigation. The Lokayukta police have vowed to continue their crackdown on corruption in Karnataka.