Lokayukta police conduct raids at multiples places in state in illegal assets cases

BENGALURU: The Lokayukta police conducted raids simultaneously at several locations across the state early on Tuesday, including offices of BBMP, Chikkamagaluru and Anekal Town Municipalities. The locations raided are in Bengaluru, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Anekal, Gadag, Dharwad and Kalaburagi.

According to officials, raids were carried out at the residences and offices of Prakash, executive engineer at BBMP, Govindrajnagar division, Dr S Pradeep, Associate Research Director in Shivamogga, Executive Engineer Mallikarjun Alipur, Panchayat Raj engineer in Kalaburagi, Ashok Valasand, Chief Engineer of KNNL in Dharwad, D B Patil, Circle Police Inspector (CPI) of Gadag Town police station, Latha Mani, accounts officer of Chikkamagaluru Town Municipality, K G Amaranath, Chief Officer of Anekal Town Municipality, the engineer at the Malaprabha Project in Dharwad, and the former engineer at RDPR, Kalaburgi, and PDO, Kalaburgi. A raid was also conducted at the residence of the chief engineer, Belagavi with aim of cracking down on corruption and investigate allegations of disproportionate assets.

Lokayukta police also raided the residences of the of Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited (KNNL) Ashoka Valasanda in Dharwad. The raids were conducted at multiple residences of Valasanda in Ramatheerthanagar, Belagavi, and his office in Dharwad, and diamond and gold jewellery, silver items, and Rs 1.5 lakh in cash were seized.

The residences raided include D B Patil’s ancestral home in Chabbi village, Bagalkot taluk, and another residence in Navanagar, Sector 18, Bagalkot. The operation, led by Lokayukta CPI Parashuram Kavatagi, targeted locations in Gadag, Bagalkot, Jamkhandi and Kerur.

According to Lokayukta officials, the operation was part of an investigation into complaints of disproportionate assets and potential misuse of official position. A team of Lokayukta officials, led by CPI Parashuram Kavatagi and supervised by DySP Pushpalatha and officer P S Patil, examined documents, cash holdings, and property records during the raid.

A team of Lokayukta officials conducted a raid in Chikkamagaluru, targeting the residence of town municipal council accounts officer Latha Mani. Latha Mani’s husband Chandrashekhar is an engineer at the Nirmiti Kendra. Two teams of officials inspected Latha Mani’s residence in Jayanagar,  Chikkamagaluru, and reviewed documents.

Thorough inspections were conducted to identify any unaccounted wealth or financial irregularities. Authorities confirmed that the operation was based on credible inputs regarding suspicious asset accumulation by the officer.

Lokayukta officials also raided the residence of an Assistant Government Officer (AGO) in Shivamogga. The officer was booked under Crime No. 9/25. The Lokayukta police similarly searched his premises for evidence of disproportionate assets.

The Lokayukta police also conducted raids on the homes and offices of two corrupt officials in Kalaburagi early in the morning, including Panchayat Raj Executive Engineer Mallikarjun Alipur. His residences in Bengaluru and Kalaburagi, as well as his office, were raided. Alipur is to retire in four days.

Officials raided Sannaur PDO Ramachandra, whose residences in Kalaburagi and his native village Bommenahalli in Muddebihal taluk of Vijayapura district, as well as his office, were raided. The Lokayukta police seized several documents and gold ornaments from the homes of both officials and continue their investigation.

The Lokayukta police conducted a raid on the residence of Dr S Pradeep, Associate Director of Research at Keladi Shivappa Nayaka University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences in Shivamogga. The raid was based on allegations of possessing disproportionate assets.

A team led by SP Manjunath Chowdhari and DySP Chandrashekhar conducted the raid simultaneously on three properties. The team searched Dr Pradeep’s residence in Priyadarshini Layout, Shivamogga; his farmhouse in Bhadrapur, Shikaripur; and his ancestral home in Baleshettikoppa, Hosanagara. The officials are examining documents and investigating allegations of disproportionate assets.