Bengaluru, Jul 11: Lokayukta sleuths on Thursday conducted raids at 56 places across the state and found that 11 government officers and engineers had amassed assets worth Rs 45.14 crore that are disproportionate to their known sources of income, the office of the Lokayukta said.
In an early morning operation, about 100 officials carried out simultaneous raids in nine districts against government officers who allegedly accumulated disproportionate assets (DA).
The superintendents of the districts supervised the raids and carried out searches in 56 locations.
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The officers who were raided include Assistant Executive Engineer in Panchayat Raj Engineering Department in Belagavi D Mahadev Bannur, Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited Executive Engineer D H Umesh, Assistant Executive Engineer at BESCOM Vigilance Police Station in Davangere M S Prabhakar, Belagavi Nirmiti Kendra Project Director Shekhar Gouda Kuradgi, Retired PWD Chief Engineer M Ravindra, and PWD Chief Engineer K G Jagadeesh, a statement issued by the Lokayukta said.
The other officers are retired Executive Engineer of the Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Division Mandya S Shivaraju, Harohalli Tahsildar in Ramanagara Vijayanna, Superintending Engineer in Irrigation Department Mahesh K, Panchayat secretary N M Jagadeesh and Mahadevapura Revenue Officer Division of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Basavaraj Magi.
According to the Lokayukta office, Shekhar Gouda Kuradgi was found to be in possession of the highest amount of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income -- worth Rs 7.88 crore -- among those raided on Thursday.
Officers found having DA of above Rs five crore are Umesh, Ravindra, K G Jagadeesh and Shivaraju, it added.
In all, the 11 officers were found to be in possession of Rs 45.14 crore worth DA, the statement said.
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Bhopal: A massive financial irregularity has come to light in Madhya Pradesh, where Rs 23.81 crore, earmarked as relief aid for families of natural calamities and accidents, was siphoned into the accounts of government employees, their relatives, and other ineligible individuals across 13 districts, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
The CAG audit, as cited by The New Indian Express on Tuesday, revealed that the funds—intended to assist families affected by disasters such as lightning strikes, hailstorms, drought, excessive rain, floods, and accidents like snakebites and drowning—were misappropriated. The fraudulent transactions were reported across thirteen districts, including Seoni, Sheopur, Sehore, Shivpuri, Dewas, Chhatarpur, Khandwa, Mandsaur, Raisen, Damoh, Satna, Agar-Malwa, and Vidisha.
The audit report, tabled in the Vidhan Sabha, disclosed that of the total misappropriated sum, Rs 21.14 crore was transferred to unauthorised (ineligible) individuals, while Rs 2.67 crore was distributed to government employees and their relatives.
The investigation further revealed that government personnel exploited loopholes in the global budget system and the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) to facilitate the scam, TNIE added.
Fake sanction orders and fake beneficiaries were created on paper to authorise e-payments, diverting funds into unauthorised accounts.
Following the shocking revelations, disciplinary action has been initiated. In Seoni district, which witnessed the highest amount of fraud, four government employees, including a tehsildar and a naib tehsildar, have been suspended, while an FIR has been registered against another employee. In Sheopur, a district-level committee has been set up to identify those involved in the fraud. In Shivpuri, where relief funds meant for drought victims were siphoned off, one government staff has been suspended, and three others have been booked.