2 K'taka govt officers held for writing 'fake letter' to Gov complaining against agriculture Min
Bengaluru, Aug 20: Two agriculture officers from Mandya district have been arrested by the CID in connection with the "fake letter" written to Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot complaining to him that state Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy sought bribes.
According to a top CID officer, the two agriculture department officers were arrested from KR Pet in the district for writing the 'fake letter' on behalf of seven assistant agriculture directors.
In July, Raj Bhavan had received the purported letter complaining that the minister was exerting pressure on the officers and employees of the agriculture department through the joint director of agriculture to pay him bribe ranging from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh.
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They even threatened to die by suicide with their families if such a "tradition" of demanding bribes is not controlled.
Accordingly, the Governor sent the letter to Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma to look into the complaint and initiate appropriate action.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Chaluvarayaswamy termed the letter fake and accused the opposition BJP and the JD(S) of being involved in it.
Siddaramaiah later handed over the case to the CID for investigation, which arrested the two officers.
Condemning the arrest, former chief minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy said the arrests of the officers proved the charges of minister's involvement in transfer and extortion business to be true.
The former chief minister said: "Keep aside the discussion whether the letter (to the Governor) was fake or genuine but now the truth has come out that there was transfer business happening in the agriculture department."
"Why did the officers write the letter? Whether the officers are from Mysuru or Mandya but the fact is the truth has come out," he claimed.
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Man held for killing teacher over Rs 13 lakh loan in Karnataka
Kalaburagi (Karnataka) (PTI): A 27-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing a teacher after she repeatedly demanded repayment of a Rs 13 lakh loan that he had taken from her, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, Amar, allegedly attacked the woman with a sharp weapon and later set the body on fire on the Kamalapur-Kalmood road in the district in an attempt to destroy evidence, they said.
Police identified the victim as Jyoti (57), a resident of Kalaburagi city, who was working as a teacher in Bidar district.
The matter came to light after an unidentified female body was found beside the Kamalapur-Kalmood road, they said.
Initially, it was treated as an unidentified body. Based on a complaint from a local resident, a murder case was registered under 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Kamalapur Police Station limits in Kalaburagi district, police said.
The investigation was immediately taken up and her photographs were widely circulated and later, the woman was identified.
During the investigation, police identified Amar, a resident of Kapnoor area, who owns and runs a milk parlour as the accused, Adduru Srinivasulu, Kalaburagi Superintendent of Police told reporters here.
According to him, Amar had borrowed Rs 13 lakh from Jyoti. She had been repeatedly asking him to return the money and had warned that she would lodge a police complaint if he failed to repay the amount. Fearing this, Amar allegedly planned to kill her.
He reportedly took Jyoti towards the Kamalapur-Kalmood road in a vehicle on April 4. On the way, he stopped the vehicle saying that water needed to be poured into the engine. "When she got down, he allegedly threw chilli powder on her face and attacked her with a sharp weapon. After the murder, he allegedly poured fuel on the body and set it on fire before fleeing the scene," the officer said.
Based on the accused's statement, police recorded his confession, collected evidence in the case, arrested him and produced him before a court, which remanded him to judicial custody, he added.
