Bangalore: Top Lokayukta Cop says Deve Gowda Threatened him
Bangalore, Nov 12 (DHNS): Janata Dal(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda is alleged to have made threatening phone calls to then ADGP of the Lokayukta police Jeevan Kumar B Gaonkar, warning him of ''dire consequences'' if he continued with the inquiry into a case against Balakrishne Gowda, his elder son.
The Lokayukta police have been investigating into a disproportionate assets case against Balakrishne Gowda after the Lokayukta court recently ordered the registration of an FIR against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Balakrishne Gowda was a KAS officer and he took voluntary retirement a few years ago. The Lokayukta investigators had recently raided his premises as part of the investigation.
Sources said Gowda called Gaonkar on Tuesday and asked him not to harass his son “using threatening language”. Similarly, Balakrishne Gowda also made a call to Lokayukta SP Shivashankar and spoke to him in the same manner. The SP immediately brought it to the notice of Gaonkar, who wrote a detailed letter to Chief Secretary S V Ranganath and acting Lokayukta Justice S B Majage in this regard.
Gowda’s threats have come to light at a time when the officer as ADGP (Administration), Bangalore was transferred suddenly. As the Lokayukta ADGP, he was supervising the investigation into the high-profile cases of corruption.
Even the scam-hit Yeddyurappa was said to be irked with Gaonkar. It was under his supervision the Lokayukta sleuths recently raided the premises of his sons and son-in-law in connection with a denotification case, sources said.
Gaonkar is learnt to have stated in the letter that the former prime minister accused him of acting as “a slave of Yeddyurappa” and charged him of conducting the probe against his son in a biased manner.
Further, Gowda learnt to have taken strong exception to the Lokayukta police interrogating the security guards of Balakrishne Gowda and warned him that he would take up the matter with chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda if he did not “mend his ways”.
The JD(S) national president also learnt to have told Gaonkar that he was aware of the reasons why he had taken “special interest in the case and who was behind it all”.
When contacted, Deve Gowda however, refused to comment. "You should not ask me about such things, nor do I wish to react to what Puttaswamy (CM's political secretary) alleges against me," he stated.Gaonkar was not available for comments.
Sources in the State government said the chief secretary cannot take any action against Deve Gowda on the basis of the letter, as his power to act encompasses only the officials of the State government. Moreover, Gaonkar has not furnished any proof of Gowda's threatening phone call, sources added.