Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Apr 9: The Karnataka government has extended the term of the inquiry commission led by retired High Court judge justice John Michael D'Cunha till July 31 to continue its probe into alleged irregularities and scams during the Covid-19 procurement period.
The extension comes after the commission, which was constituted to investigate Covid-era mismanagement, sought more time to complete its inquiry. The previous term ended on March 31. An official order was issued by Nagaraju S, undersecretary to the Government of Karnataka, on Wednesday.
A significant part of the probe focuses on the tragic incident at Chamarajanagar District Hospital, where 24 Covid-19 patients allegedly lost their lives due to the non-availability of oxygen on May 2 and 3, 2021. Preliminary findings have indicated serious lapses on the part of both the district administration and hospital authorities.
Justice D’Cunha submitted the second interim report of the commission to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on April 5. The extensive document, spread across 1,808 pages, is the second among seven interim volumes planned by the panel.
Out of these, four volumes pertain to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and detail irregularities in Bommanahalli, South, West, and Yelahanka Zones. The remaining three volumes cover questionable Covid-related procurements and expenditures in Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Gadag, and Koppal districts.
Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh was also present during the handover of the report to the CM.
Earlier, the Congress-led state government had handed over the investigation of the Covid procurement scam to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on February 14, two months after registering an FIR at the Vidhana Soudha Police Station on December 13, 2024. The FIR names senior officials and staff allegedly involved in the scam.
The probe is being carried out by a CID team led by SP Raghavendra Hegde and three deputy SPs. The alleged scams occurred during the previous BJP government’s tenure.
The Congress government has hinted at possible action against former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, former Health Minister B Sriramulu, and BJP MP Dr K Sudhakar in connection with the irregularities.
A special cabinet sub-committee led by deputy CM D K Shivakumar has also been constituted to study the findings of the D’Cunha commission and recommend further action.
Speaking on the matter, Shivakumar stated, “Officials are conducting an investigation based on the recommendations of justice Michael D'Cunha's committee on Covid management-related irregularities. Those who embezzled Covid funds will not be spared.”