Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Apr 14: Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde expressed his unhappiness over the blackmail tactics being employed by certain senior officials against the Lokayukta personnel, who conduct raids on them, by filing various criminal cases against them.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday April 13, Hegde said the Lokayukta had conducted raid on the residence and office of an IAS officer recently and unearthed unaccounted assets running into crores of rupees. The said officer had clandestinely registered property in the name of a woman to avoid accountability. The officer has registered caste abuse cases against several Lokayukta personnel right from the Lokayukta sub-inspector who investigated the case, to the additional director general of police, in the Belgaum police station. The father-in-law and wife of another IAS officer have registered criminal cases against the Lokayukta police, he revealed.

"The Lokayukta police will never wilt under the threats of such cases. They will work sincerely and enthusiastically as before. These false cases are being booked to frustrate the Lokayukta employees by making them to frequently travel to the courts, he explained.

In the first 100 days of this year, Lokayukta conducted 105 raids, arrested 132 officials, belonging to different departments.  Houses and offices of 18 officers were raided and huge amounts of unaccounted wealth were detected, he said. Agreeing that there are 18,744 cases pending to be cleared by the Lokayukta, he said shortage of staff is coming in the way of proper discharge of duties.

He informed, in addition to huge unaccounted assets owned by IPS officer Hemant Nimbalkar, it was found that his wife had carried out transactions worth crores of rupees. The Lokayukta is investigating the issue, he explained.

Deputy Lokayukta Patri Basavangowda and additional director general Roop Kumar Dutta were present at the press conference.