Upa Lokayukta raids uncover alleged ₹200 crore government land scam in Mandya; five officials arrest
Bengaluru: A search conducted by Lokayukta police on the directions of B Veerappa have exposed an alleged scam involving the illegal transfer of government land worth around ₹200 crore in Nagamangala taluk of Mandya district, officials said.
According to The New Indian Express, Nagamangala taluk office allegedly forged, tampered with and fabricated documents to transfer about 320 acres of government gomal land to private individuals under the pretext of allotments through the Bagair Hukum Committee (BHC).
Acting on a tip-off about the racket involved in usurping the gomal land, the Upa Lokayukta issued warrants on Tuesday to conduct searches at seven places, including the residences of the persons involved, the government guest house, a hotel and the taluk office in Nagamangala, the assembly segment represented by Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy.
Following the recovery of incriminating documents, a complaint was filed by the Lokayukta police, based on which Nagamangala police registered a First Information Report (FIR) citing criminal conspiracy, cheating, dishonesty, tampering, fraudulently using forged documents, theft and criminal breach of trust.
Five officials of the land records branch were arrested. They have been identified as second division assistants Satish H V and Gurumurthy, shirastedars Ravishankara and Umesh, and Darakastu village assistant S Yogesh.
“The act of the officials shocks the consciousness of this authority,” said Upa Lokayukta Justice Veerappa.
A statement from the Lokayukta office said that prima facie, it was found that the accused fabricated documents, such as Saguvali Chit, grant ledgers and other land records were created in the Darakastu land records section to illegally transfer gomal land in villages including H N Kavalu, Chikkajataka, Doddajataka and Karadahalli in Nagamangala taluk.
Applications seeking grant of land were found in the car belonging to village assistant Yogesh. When the Lokayukta police, headed by Superintendent of Police Suresh Babu, questioned Yogesh, he revealed that records room staffers Vijay Kumar, Satish and Yashavanth, along with deed writer Chinnaswamy, were diverting government land since 2020.
The seized records disclosed that entries in the land grant ledger had been tampered with to add new names. While BHC rules allow a maximum allotment of 4 acres and 38 guntas per beneficiary, records showed that 9 acres and 27 guntas were allotted to one Prakrul Khan and 11 acres and 23 guntas to Kaleem Mulla. However, these entries are not found in the original records kept in the records room, where the search was conducted.
Further investigation is under way, officials said.
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UK imposes study visa bans on Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, Sudan
London (PTI): The UK on Wednesday imposed a study visa ban on four countries accused of using the route as a backdoor entry to seek permanent refuge in the country, as part of a wider clampdown on the soaring rates of asylum applications.
The so-called "emergency brake" on student visas applies to Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan, with Afghans also subject to a skilled worker visa ban following a major surge in asylum claims from these countries.
The move comes as UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood introduces new legislation in Parliament this week, with the visa brake to be introduced via an Immigration Rules change on Thursday to come into force on March 26.
"Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused," said Mahmood.
“That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity. I will restore order and control to our borders,” she said.
According to official statistics released by the Home Office alongside the visa ban announcement, asylum applications by students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan rocketed by over 470 per cent between 2021 and 2025 – making them among the most likely nationalities to claim asylum.
Meanwhile, the number of Afghans on work visas claiming asylum now outstripping the number of visas issued.
In what has been described as an “unprecedented step”, the Home Office said it will end sponsored study visas from all four countries and skilled worker visas for Afghan nationals.
“Tough action is required as asylum claims from legal routes have more than trebled since 2021 – making up 39 per cent of the 100,000 people who applied last year. In total, 133,760 people have claimed asylum after arriving legally in the past five years,” the Home Office said.
It said these refugees end up having to be accommodated at the expense of the British taxpayer, with an “above average proportion” of people from the four countries claiming destitution.
“Asylum support is currently costing more than 4 billion pounds a year – with nearly 16,000 nationals from the four countries currently supported at public expense, including over 6,000 in hotels," it added.
According to official data, between 2021 and the year ending September 2025, the proportion of Afghan asylum claims to study visas issued was 95 per cent, applications by students from Myanmar soared 16-fold over the same period and claims by students from Cameroon and Sudan spiked by more than 330 per cent.
The government pointed to its success in reducing student asylum claims by 20 per cent over the course of 2025, but stressed that further action is needed as those arriving on study visas still make up 13 per cent of all claims in the system.
The visa ban announcement comes on the back of Mahmood's announcement earlier this week that asylum status in the UK will be temporary, to be reviewed after 30 months.
