Karnataka Lokayukta corruption case: Many complaints, but none filed case
BENGALURU: The controversy surrounding the Lokayukta institution is getting murkier by the day. The investigation by the Lokayukta police into allegations of corruption within the institution has revealed that Justice Bhaskar Rao’s son Ashwin Rao and associates extorted more than 100 government officials after threatening them with Lokayukta raids if they did not pay up.
Sources in the Lokayukta said that the investigation, conducted till Justice Rao handed over the case to the CCB on Friday, has found that the accused in the corruption case, including Ashwin Rao, Krishna Rao alias Naramsimha Rao and others, mostly targeted officials who were on the verge of retirement.
“It has been revealed that the accused were extorting officials from various departments, including BBMP, BDA and BWSSB. The accused called officers in different parts of the state and told them that there were many complaints against them and that the Lokayukta would raid their houses. The accused would then demand money to stop the raids. Most of the targeted officials were told to come to Justice Rao’s official residence to discuss their cases,” a source said.
“There are instances where the accused made officials cough up nearly Rs 1 crore. Their demand ranged between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 1 crore. As per our estimation, the scam will run up to Rs 100 crore. To avoid detection, the accused used multiple SIM cards to contact their targets,” the source added.
It is learnt that more than 20 officials orally complained to Lokayukta SP Sonia Narang, but none of them came forward to file written complaints.
When Deccan Chronicle contacted Ms Narang, she said that she had received complaints only orally and no written complaint was registered so far. “We have investigated the case only for two days on June 24 and 25. As Lokayukta Justice Rao transferred the case to the CCB and ordered us to stop probing on June 26, we have stopped the investigation. During the investigation, we received several complaints but none of them in writing. We stopped the probe before we could look into some of those allegations,” she said.
AAP members lodge plaint against Lokayukta’s son
Demanding a stern action against those involved in corruption in the Lokayukta, members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday filed a complaint with the High Grounds police, seeking the arrest of Ashwin Rao, son of Lokayukta Bhaskar Rao, and Krishna Rao, an associate, whose names have cropped up in the internal probe.
Mr Siddharth Sharma, AAP’s founder member, Mr Ravi Krishna Reddy and others, stated in the complaint that incidents of corruption occurred at the the Lokayukta office and also at Lokayukta’s official residence on Sankey Road.
“Both Ashwin Rao and Krishna Rao misused the official residence and office of the Lokayukta by summoning government officials, threatening them with raids, harassed, intimidated and extorted money from them,” Mr Reddy said in the complaint.
The police should arrest them immediately and conduct a detailed investigation, they said. The AAP members protested in front of the police station for a while when the police refused to file an FIR.
The protest was called off after a senior police officer clarified that the matter was referred to the legal department for an opinion before taking further action, since the matter is pertaining to the Lokayukta.
“Since the matter is already referred to CCB and is being probed internally, we have asked the legal opinion on filing a first information report (FIR),” the officer explained. “The police promised us that they will launch a preliminary probe immediately based on our complaint,” Mr Reddy said.
