Karnataka Lokayukta sleuths find swimming pool, cash counting machine during raids at officials houses

Bengaluru: Lokayukta sleuths were astonished to discover a private swimming pool and a fully equipped gymnasium during a raid at the residence of Deputy Superintendent of Police Nanjundaiah in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Nanjundaiah was one of ten government officers raided in connection with Disproportionate Assets, the Lokayukta said.

Officials were stunned by the opulence of the officer’s residence, which featured grand murals, a terraced lawn, a vertical garden, a restaurant-like service area near the swimming pool, and glitzy stairs, a Lokayukta officer said.

Searches were conducted across eight locations linked to the police officer, revealing assets worth Rs 12.53 crore, including five plots and a house valued at Rs 11.05 crore, according to a Lokayukta statement.

In another raid, the Lokayukta team seized a large amount of cash and a currency note-counting machine from the residence of Ekesh Babu, Deputy Secretary of the Higher Education Department. Sources stated that he possessed assets worth Rs 7.92 crore.

BESCOM Superintending Engineer M Lokesh Babu was found to own properties worth Rs 6.71 crore, including two sites and three houses.

According to the Lokayukta, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Revenue Inspector S G Suresh possessed assets valued at Rs 1.83 crore, comprising three sites, two houses, a farmhouse, and four acres and five guntas of agricultural land.

The residence of Bengaluru Rural District Health Officer M C Sunil Kumar was also raided, revealing assets worth Rs 5.17 crore, including one site and three houses.

Raids were also conducted on Vidyaranyapura BBMP Tax Inspector Krishnappa, Gadag Panchayat Raj Engineering Division Assistant Lakshman Konerappa Karni, Kalaburagi Municipal Corporation Superintending Engineer Ramappa Pandu Jadhav, Koppal Excise Inspector Ramesh B Agadi, and Chitradurga Assistant Conservator of Forest S Suresh, Lokayukta said.

The Lokayukta revealed that the total disproportionate assets unearthed during the raids amounted to Rs 48.55 crore. The raids began early in the morning and continued until late in the evening.