Daijiworld Media Network - Bidar (SP)

Bidar, Aug 27: A criminal case stands filed in a police station in the town against two government officials. It has been revealed that these two had conspired to sell landed property worth Rs 1.27 crore belonging to the municipality here for Rs 28,890. The officials guilty of putting through this fraudulent transaction are municipal commissioner, K Narasimha Murthy, and sub-registrar, S M Hemesh Saath. Both have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.

Divisional commissioner, Harsh Gupta, was the one who exposed this fraud. Surprisingly, this illegal act happened in the home district of the minister for municipal administration. Reports say that land measuring 5,489 sq ft worth Rs 1.27 crore was illegally sold by municipal commissioner, Narasimha Murthy, without obtaining any advance sanction or legal approval, for Rs 28,890 to a private party for commercial purposes. Thus, he caused heavy loss to the exchequer.

After the divisional commissioner found about this transaction, project director of district urban development cell conducted an investigation into this affair. He prepared a detailed report on his findings, which was submitted to the divisional commissioner in two parts, one on August 7, and the other on August 11. On the basis of this report, Harsh Gupta registered criminal cases oagainst the sub-registrar and municipal commissioner. He also annulled the above property sale transaction.

Deputy superintendent of police, Sangappa Hunasikatti, who happens to be the investigating officer in the case, took the sub-registrar into custody on Friday evening and produced him before district chief and sessions judge, Mallannagouda Patil. Narasimha Murthy was taken into custody at Bengaluru and produced in a court. Both have been remanded to judicial custody it is said. The police have sought police custody of the municipal commissioner for investigation.