Karnataka Lokayukta under graft lens, probe transferred to Central Crime Branch
Bengaluru: Karnataka Lokayukta has now come under the scanner for alleged corruption by some of its officials, with its head deciding to hand over all such cases to Central Crime Branch (CCB) for a probe.
Amid allegations that one of its officials had demanded Rs 1 crore bribe, Y Bhaskar Rao, a former Chief Justice of the state High Court, has transferred all the cases to the CCB but dismissed charges that his relatives were involved in graft.
"We have transferred all the cases to CCB for a fair investigation. We did this after we came to a conclusion that it wouldn't be fair to probe the matter by us where the allegations are levelled against our body," he told reporters here.
Initially, the Lokayukta had ordered an internal investigation into the graft charges. However, social activists, unhappy with the probe, demanded Rao's resignation alleging his relatives were also involved in corruption.
"If there is anything in the report (about his kin), I will definitely resign before you," Rao said.
Meanwhile, Joint Commissioner of Police M Chandra Sekhar said police have not yet received any official intimation about handing over the case to CCB.
"No, we haven't received any official intimation from the Lokayukta about handing over the case to us. We are waiting," he said.
An FIR has also not been registered in the matter so far, as investigations are yet to ascertain who at the Lokayukta office had allegedly asked for the bribe.
Asked about the involvement of his relatives in the case, Rao said, "Nobody is involved. These are wrong allegations".
The matter came to light recently after Lokayukta Superintendent of Police Sonia Narang wrote a letter to the Registrar of Karnataka Lokayukta, about the complaint she received from a person who alleged that someone from the Lokayukta office demanded Rs 1 crore in bribe to avoid a raid.
RTI activist R Bhaskaran, however, countered Rao's remarks saying, "These charges are not baseless, but based on a concrete letter written by Lokayukta SP herself addressed to Lokayukta Registrar."
