KEY STORY
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Sleuths of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday launched simultaneous raids across Karnataka against 15 officials of various government departments.
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As many as 408 ACB sleuths are conducting search operations in the residences and offices of the targeted officials and houses of their relatives.
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According to a press release, an intensive search operation was carried out at the officer’s house and documents were being examined for three consecutive hours. It is interesting to note that a large number of illegal assets belonging to Government C and D Group employees were searched during the attack.
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The raid began in the morning at the residence of TS Rudreshappa, joint director of the Agriculture Department in Gadag district. from where the ACB officials seized 7 kg of gold and Rs 15 lakh in cash.
Anti-Corruption Bureau conducting raids agst 15 officials at 60 places in Karnataka in connection with disproportionate assets cases agst them. Began early Wed morn. 7 kg of gold found with T S Rudreshappa, Joint Dir,
Agriculture, Gadag. Thread has details of all recoveries: pic.twitter.com/qZEgiEjsja— S. Lalitha (@Lolita_TNIE) November 24, 2021
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More than Rs 40 lakh in cash and gold ornaments were seized from the house of Shanthagouda, an engineer working at the Public Works Department (PWD) in the Kalburgi district. During the raid, the ACB sleuths found currency notes hidden in water pipes and ceilings at the engineer’s residence.
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The officials had to hire a plumber to recover the notes hidden in the ceiling and pipes in the house. Visual from the raid shows officials taking out Rs 500 notes from the water pipes of the house. According to officials, Rs 10 lakh were hidden in pipes while Rs 6 lakhs were hidden in the ceiling.
#AntiCorruptionBureau conducts search in 60 places wrt disproportionate of assets cases registered against 15 officers by team of 8 SPs, 100 officers and 300 staff. Officers names in pic below. @XpressBengaluru @santwana99 @NammaKarnataka_ @NammaBengaluroo @mg_chetan pic.twitter.com/Hh8YdXUIBd
— Chetana Belagere (@chetanabelagere) November 24, 2021
The raid comes in the wake of a complaint by the Karnataka Contractors Association that contractors taking up civil works have to cough up commissions.
The raids were conducted on executive engineers, RTO officers, revenue inspectors, project managers, joint director, First Division Clerk (FDC) and a ‘D’ Group employee. These officers worked for Revenue department, BBMP, agricultural department and PWD as well. The raids are also being conducted on a physiotherapist of a government hospital.
ACB officials unearth around 7 kgs of gold worth Rs. 3.5 crore and cash Rs. 15 lakh in the residence of TS Rudreshappa, Joint Director, Agriculture Department, Gadag during today's raids on 15 Govt officials @XpressBengaluru @santwana99 @ManjuS_TNIE pic.twitter.com/AkI9iBow4y
— MG Chetan (@mg_chetan) November 24, 2021