Karnataka govt suspends officer for irregularities in COVID-19-related procurement

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Monday suspended the joint controller of Karnataka state accounts and auditing department for alleged irregularities in the procurement of PPE kits and other equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

G P Raghu, currently serving as the financial adviser to the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, was the financial advisor to the medical education department when the alleged irregularities took place.

The suspension order was issued based on an inquiry panel’s report which found the officer violating the Karnataka Transperency in Public Procurement Act.

The Congress government in Karnataka had constituted the inquiry commission headed by retired high court judge Justice John Michael D’Cunha to look into alleged irregularities that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic when the BJP was in power in the state and Dr K Sudhakar was the state’s health minister.

The commission submitted its report on August 31 to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.