Lokayukta conducts raid on 13 top officials

Bangalore, Dec 19(UNI) Karnataka Lokayukta today, in a raid conducted on the office and residence of 13 officials, including an IAS officer and Commercial Tax Joint Commissioner, unearthed properties worth more than Rs 30 crore disproportionate to known sources of income.

Lokauytka Justice Santosh Hegde told reporters here that the raids were being conducted simultaneously in different districts.

He said that "the valuation of the seized assets so far was more than Rs 30 crore and it could be more after completion of raids which is still continuing".

The raids, which began in the morning, was being conducted in the districts of Bangalore Rural and Urban, Haveri, Chikamagalur, Shimoga, Davanagere, Mandya and Chitradurga.

The 13 officials comprise of an IAS officer, two Chief Engineers, three Executive Engineers, one Joint Commissioner of Commercial Tax, one RTO, four Motor Vehicle Inspector, he said.

Justice Hegde said that the seizure calculated so far from the raid was more than Rs four crore each from IAS officer Chandrashekhar, (former Deputy Commissioner of Chikmagalur, now posted to Bijapur), Commercial Tax Joint Commissioner Ismanullakhan and BESCOM Engineer Venkateshwar Reddy The properties seized included immovable properties like houses, sites, shopping complexes, bank lockers and agriculture lands, he added.

This is the second major raid conducted by the Lokayukta in the last two months with the last one being raid on Bangalore Urban Water Supply Managing Director in which Rs 20 Crore property disproportionate to known sources of income was seized.

UNI