In a sweeping operation across Karnataka, Lokayukta officials conducted extensive raids early this morning in nine districts, including Kalaburagi, Mysore, Davangere, Chitradurga, Dharwad, and Belgaum. The raids targeted 56 locations associated with 11 officials, as more than 100 Lokayukta officers participated in this significant crackdown.
Dharwad: The residence of Shekar Gowda, Project Officer of the Belgaum Construction Centre, was raided. Gowda, who owns two PG accommodations in Dharwad, saw simultaneous raids on his properties in Saptapur and Radhakrishna Nagar on KCD Road.
Ramnagar: Raids were conducted at six locations linked to Aarohalli Tehsildar Vijianna. These locations included properties in Chikkaballapur, Chintamani, Tumkur, Arohalli in Ramanagara, and Mandya. Previously serving as the Kolar Tahsildar, Vijianna’s properties were scrutinised under the leadership of Kolar Lokayukta SP Umesh.
Bengaluru/Kalaburagi: Basavaraj Magi, a revenue officer of the Kengeri division of BBMP, faced raids at his residences in Bangalore and MB Nagar in Kalaburagi.
Belgaum: Lokayukta officials raided four properties belonging to Belgaum Zilla Panchayat AEE Duradundeshwar Bannura, with raids taking place in Gokaka, Honaga, Hindalaga, and Yallur. Notably, Bannura was recently implicated in a corruption case involving demands for money from a contractor.
Mandya: The residence of retired executive engineer Sivaraju in Mandya Nagar was also targeted. A team led by SP Suresh Babu inspected multiple locations, including the city, Ijjalaghatta village of Nagamangala taluk, a farmhouse, a crusher, and the Mysore residence of Sivaraju’s son-in-law.
Mysore: Lokayukta officers raided the house of K. Mahesh, an irrigation department engineer, in K.C. Badanga under the Nazarbad police station. Concurrently, documents were examined at the Cauvery Irrigation Corporation office in Gokulam, where Mahesh is employed.
Davangere: Raids were carried out on the residences and offices of KPTCL Executive Engineer D.H. Umesh and AEE Bescom Vigilance Engineer M.S. Prabhakar. Locations included Umesh’s house in Shivkumar Swamy barangay and properties in Chikkamagaluru. Additional raids targeted a shed in the Karura industrial area and a house with a swimming pool in Avaragere. Umesh’s properties in Chitradurga Hosadurga were also under scrutiny.
Davangere City: Bescom vigilance officer AEE Prabhakar faced multiple raids. Lokayukta officers checked his house in MCC B Block 13th Main. Six teams, led by Davangere Lokayukta SP MS Kaulapure, conducted simultaneous raids, including contributions from officers in Chitradurga, Haveri, and Bellary divisions.
This extensive operation by the Lokayukta signifies a robust effort to tackle corruption and misconduct among state officials, with the scrutiny expected to unearth significant findings.
