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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15 IAS officers transferred in Haryana
Chandigarh (PTI): The Haryana government transferred 15 IAS officers with immediate effect on Wednesday.
Among those who have been transferred are Vineet Garg, Chairman, Haryana State Pollution Control Board. He has been posted as the additional chief secretary to the government's printing and stationery department, relieving Raja Shekhar Vundru of the charge, a government order said.
Ajay Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, Gurugram, has been transferred and posted as the deputy principal secretary-II to the chief minister against a newly-created post.
Pankaj Agarwal, Principal Secretary, Irrigation and Water Resources Department, has been posted as the principal secretary in the architecture department, relieving Apporva Kumar Singh of the charge.
Saket Kumar, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Commissioner and Secretary, Development and Panchayats Department, has been transferred and posted as the commissioner and secretary in the archives department, relieving Shekhar Vidyarthi of the charge.
Mani Ram Sharma, Registrar, Cooperative Societies, has been posted as the secretary in the health department, relieving Rippudaman Singh Dhillon of the charge.
