MANDYA: A massive irregularity has come to light in the allotment of land under the Bagar Hukum scheme in Karnataka’s Mandya district, with the Lokayukta exposing alleged large-scale corruption in the distribution of nearly 320 acres of government land in Nagamangala taluk. Following a raid on the Nagamangala taluk office, Lokayukta police have registered an FIR against 11 officials and arrested five of them, sending shockwaves through the district administration.
The scam surfaced after multiple public complaints, prompting Upa Lokayukta Justice B. Veerappa to take suo motu cognisance of the matter. Acting on this, Lokayukta officials conducted a detailed raid at the Nagamangala taluk office, where they scrutinised files, land records and official documents late into the evening.
Officials arrested, search on for others
Those arrested include Satish, an SDA attached to the Land and Development (L&D) section of the Nagamangala taluk office; Shirastedars Ravishankar, Umesh and Yogesh; and Gurumoorthy, a second-division assistant from the record room. All the arrested officials were produced before a court, which has remanded them to judicial custody. Lokayukta teams are continuing their search for the remaining accused officials named in the FIR.
Investigators allege the officials colluded to manipulate records and fabricate documents to illegally allot land to ineligible beneficiaries under the Bagar Hukum scheme, which is meant to regularise unauthorised cultivation by landless and marginal farmers.
Allegations of bribery and fake documents
Preliminary findings from the Lokayukta probe suggest that land allotments were made in exchange for bribes, while eligible applicants were bypassed. Investigators allege that forged documents were created to demonstrate false eligibility, enabling favoured individuals to illegally secure land parcels.
“Instead of distributing land to deserving beneficiaries as per the rules, officials allegedly allotted land to those who paid bribes. This amounts to a serious breach of trust and misuse of official position,” a Lokayukta official said, adding that the scale of the scam appears significant given the extent of land involved.
The officials are suspected of tampering with revenue records, suppressing original applications and fast-tracking approvals for select individuals, while genuine applications were either rejected or kept pending for years.
The scam may widen
With 320 acres of land already under scrutiny, sources indicate the extent of irregularities could increase as more files are reviewed. Lokayukta officials have seized several documents and digital records from the taluk office and are analysing them to identify additional beneficiaries and possible involvement of higher-level officials.
“This is not a one-off case. The pattern suggests an organised racket operating within the taluk office,” another official involved in the investigation said. “Further arrests are likely as the probe progresses.”
Political reactions and public anger
The revelations have triggered sharp reactions from political circles and civil society groups, with demands for strict action against those involved. Opposition parties have alleged that such scams reflect deep-rooted corruption in land administration and have called for a comprehensive audit of Bagar Hukum allotments across the state.
Local residents and farmer organisations have expressed anger, stating that the scam has deprived genuine landless families of their rightful land. “We have been waiting for years for land under Bagar Hukum. Instead, officials sold it to the highest bidders,” said a farmer from Nagamangala.
What is Bagar Hukum?
The Bagar Hukum scheme was introduced to regularise the unauthorised cultivation of government land by poor farmers and provide them with legal ownership. However, repeated allegations of corruption and misuse have plagued the scheme in several districts.
With the Mandya case now under intense scrutiny, the Lokayukta investigation is expected to bring more details to light in the coming days, potentially exposing a wider land scam network within the district administration.
