Date:04/11/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/04/stories/2007110458830100.htm

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Seven police officials, engineer, four vehicle inspectors in Lokayukta net

Staff Reporter

Sleuths stumble on property worth crores in Bangalore, Bellary and Bidar

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

UNEARTHING WEALTH: Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde (left) and Upa Lokayukta Patri Basanagouda display photographs of houses of police officers, who allegedly amassed wealth, in Bangalore on Saturday.

BANGALORE: In a series of searches on Saturday in Bangalore, Bellary and Bidar, the Lokayukta police found seven police officers, four motor vehicle inspectors and an Irrigation Department official possessing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income. Although the exact value of the wealth indicated in the seized documents was not known, it is estimated to run into crores of rupees.

Of the 13 persons whose premises were searched, 10 are from Bangalore, two from Bellary and one from Bidar. The police officials named are Sreenivas Iyer, Superintendent of Police and Principal of Armed Police Motor Driving Training School, Yelahanka; G.T. Ajjappa, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Vidhana Soudha; B.A. Vishwanath Shetty, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Vidhana Soudha Security; P. Purushottam, Kadugodi Police Inspector; and police inspectors H. Siddappa, H.S. Mariswamygowda and S.B. Mallikarjun. The other officials are Balachandrarao, Senior Inspector of Motor Vehicles (IMV), Yeshwantapur RTO Office; Ishwar Naik, IMV Rajajinagar; M. Lakshman, IMV Devanahalli; Siddeshwar and Shankarappa IMVs from Bellary.

The Lokayukta sleuths could not complete the search in the case of Mr. Shankarappa because he and his wife fled their home.

The Irrigation Department official is Lakshman Rao, Assistant Executive Engineer of Karanja Irrigation Project, Bidar.

“This is the first time the raids were conducted simultaneously across 13 places,” said Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde. The raids began early morning by involving all the 105 Lokayukta police officers. “We began the operation around 6 a.m.,” said Additional Director-General of Police (Lokayukta) R.K. Datta. Apart from searching houses and offices in Bangalore, Gulbarga and Bidar, the operations were conducted in Mysore, Chitradurga and Tumkur.

The raids have shown startling revelations about the property of the officials. Superintendent of Police Sreenivas Iyer possesses inter alia five sites Bangalore.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Ajjappa has a house in the city, another in Chitradurga apart from two sites in Bangalore. Also seized were more than half kg gold and 5 kg of silver articles. The Lokayukta police are verifying the documents relating to 22 acres of land, which is in the name of his father.

From Mr. Vishwanath Singh, the Lokayukta police recovered document related to a three-storeyed shopping complex in a posh area.

Mr. Purushottam owns an apartment at Tata Nagar worth Rs. 70 lakh, two sites in Kodigehalli and another at Sharadanagar, and 3.4 acres of land in Nanjangud.

Mr. Naik owns a house and a commercial complex in Cholanayakanahalli and a site in Doddabommasandra in the name of Savitri.

Mr. Balachandrarao stays in Dollars Colony and owns three guntas of land in Hebbal while his wife Geetha has a site in Mathikere, a house and a service station.

Mr. Lakshman stays in a Rs. 1.5-crore house in Jayanagar “T” Block and owns a commercial complex in Koramangala estimated at Rs. 2.5 crore. Mr. Siddeshwara, Mr. Lakshman’s counterpart in Bellary, stays in a two-storeyed house and is constructing another house estimated at Rs. 80 lakh. Ramamurthy Nagar Police inspector Siddappa’s PNS Layout is estimated at Rs. 1.5 crore. He owns commercial sheds at Horamavu estimated Rs. 70 lakh and possesses documents related to nine sale deeds of properties estimated at Rs. 70 lakh. Police inspector Mariswamygowda, who works in City Special Branch, has a house in Bapujinagar which was estimated at Rs. 1 crore and another in BCC Layout worth Rs. 55 lakh. Inspector Mallikarjun, who works in Upparpet Traffic police station, stays in a Rs. 1.1-crore house in HRBR Layout and has a site in Lakkasandra. Mr. Lakshmanrao, Assistant Executive Engineer in Bidar, stays in a Rs. 50-lakh house and owns 19 acres of agriculture land.

Prior to the search operation, complaints under the Prevention of Corruption Act were registered against the 13.