KALABURAGI/BENGALURU: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday conducted a massive search and seizure operation on the offices and residences of 15 government officials across the state. Illegal assets running into crores of rupees, including Rs 1,53,89,000 cash and 16.495 kg gold, were recovered from them.
It was pure drama at the palatial house of Kalaburagi PWD Junior Engineer, Shantagouda Biradar. The ACB team knocked on his doors around 9 am. But the sleuths were made to wait for more than 10 minutes, raising their suspicion.
Once in, they searched every nook and cranny but did not find anything suspicious. A tipoff from the neighbours led them to a drain pipe in which the money had been stashed away. The police summoned a plumber to cut open the pipe and pulled out bundles of Rs 500 notes. By the time the pipeline was emptied out, there was a pile of Rs 13.50 lakh in cash.
Over 500 ACB staffers involved in raids across state
Another Rs 6 lakh was found hidden in a compartment in the ceiling. In all, Rs 54.50 lakh cash, documents related to 36 acres of agricultural land and three other properties were recovered from Biradar. Vehicles -- quite strangely, a school bus too -- were seized. The ACB had engaged 503 staffers for the raids, which started early in the morning and continued till night.
The officials had been divided into 68 teams to raid a similar number of places. ACB officials found that the Joint Director of Agriculture Department in Gadag, TS Rudreshappa, has had a ‘golden run’ as a government official. Whopping 9.4 kg of gold ingots and jewellery worth over Rs 4 crore were seized from his house. There was also Rs 15.94 lakh cash and documents related to six properties in Gadag, Shivamogga and Davanagere. The Administrative Officer of Sakala Mission, LC Nagaraj, too was raided and eight places belonging to him were searched. Nagaraj is also an accused in the multi-crore IMA scam.
ACB seized Rs 43 lakh cash, 1.760 kg gold, and property papers. But Nagaraj alleged that he was being targetted by people with vested interests. He tried to justify the wealth saying it belonged to his wife, a floriculturist. A physiotherapist of Yelahanka Government Hospital, a Group ‘D’ worker and a first division assistant at BBMP were among the others searched.
Group ‘D’ worker GV Giri had documents of six properties and four cars. The FDA, Mayanna, had papers for 10 properties The ACB also recovered a huge vault of wealth allegedly stashed away by three officers in Belagavi. B Krishnareddy, General Manager, Nandini Milk Products, Bengaluru was allegedly found to have nine properties and a petrol pump in Hoskote.
Officials in the dock
TS Rudreshappa, Joint Director, Dept of Agricultural, Gadag - 2 houses in Shivamogga, 4 sites, 9.400
kgs of gold ingots and jewels, 3 kgs of silver articles, 2 cars, 3 twowheelers, 8 acres of land, cash Rs.
15.94 lakh, household goods worth Rs. 20 lakh
Srinivas K, Executive Engineer, Hemavati Left Bank Canal-3, KR Pet Sub-Division, Mandya - 1 house, 1 flat, 2 sites in Mysuru, 4.34 acres of agricultural land, 1 farmhouse in Nanjangud, 2 cars, 2 two-wheelers, 1 kg gold, 8.840 kgs of silver articles, cash Rs. 9.85 lakh, Rs. 22 lakh of deposits, household worth Rs. 8 lakh
KS Lingegowda, Executive Engineer, Smart City, Mangaluru City Corporation - 1 house in Mangaluru, 3 sites in Chamarajanagar and Mangaluru, 2 cars, 1 two-wheeler, 1 kg silver articles, household worth
Rs. 10 lakh
LC Nagaraj, Administrative Officer, Sakala Mission, MS Building, Bengaluru - 1 house and 1 site in Bengaluru city, 1 house, 11.26 acres of land, 1 industrial purpose building in Nelamangala, 3 cars, 1.76 kgs of gold, 7.284 kgs of silver articles, cash Rs. 43 lakh, household goods worth Rs. 14 lakh.
GV Giri, Group-D Worker, BBMP Boys & Girls High School, Marappanapalya, Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru - 6 houses, 4 cars, 4 twowheelers, 8 kgs of silver articles,cash Rs. 1.18 lakh, household goods worth Rs. 15 lakh.
SS Rajashekhar, Physiotherapist, Govt Hospital, Yelahanka, Bengaluru - 2 flats, 1 site and 1 clinic in Yalahanka, 1 car, 1 twowheeler, household goods worth Rs. 4 lakh.
Mayanna, First Division Assistant, BBMP Head Office, Bengaluru - 4 houses in Bengaluru, 6 sites at various places, 2 acres of agricultural land, 1 car, 2 twowheelers, cash Rs. 59,000, Rs. 10 lakh FD, Rs. 1.50 lakh bank deposit, 600 grams gold, Benami property at 3 places, household goods worth Rs. 12 lakh.
KS Shivanand, Retired Sub- Registrar, Ballari - 1 house in Mandya, 1 site in Bengaluru, 1 car, 2 two-wheelers, 1 commercial complex, 7 acres of agricultural land in Ballari, household goods worth Rs. 8 lakh.
Sadashiva Rayappa Maralingannanavar, Senior Motor Inspector, Gokak, Belagavi - 1 house in Belagavi, 22 acres of agricultural land, 1.135 kgs of gold, cash Rs. 8.22 lakh, household worth Rs. 14 lakh.
Adavi Siddeshwara Kareppa Masti, Development Officer, Dept of Cooperation, Rayabag taluk, Belagavi - 2 houses, 4 sites in Bailhongal, 4 cars, 6 two-wheelers, 263 grams of gold, 945 grams of
silver, bank deposits & shares worth Rs. 1.50 lakh, cash Rs. 1.10 lakh, household worth Rs. 5 lakh.
Nathaji Piraji Patil, Line Mechanic Grade-2, HESCOM, Belagavi - 1 house, 2 sites in Belagavi, 1 car, 1 two-wheeler, 239 grams gold, 1.803 kg silver, cash Rs. 38,000, household goods worth Rs. 20 lakh.
Lakshinarasimhaiah, Treasury Inspector, Kasaba-2, Doddaballapura, Bengaluru Rural district - 5 houses, 6 sites, 25 acres of land in Doddaballapura, 765 grams gold, 15 kgs of silver, 1 car, 2 two-wheelers, cash Rs. 1.13 lakh.
Vasudev RV, Former Project Director, Nirmithi Kendra, Bengaluru Rural District - 5 houses and 8 sites in Bengaluru, 4 houses in Sompura of Nelamangala, 10.20 acres of agricultural land in Nelamangala and Magadi taluks, 850 grams of gold, 9.5 kgs of silver, cash Rs. 15 lakh, household goods worth Rs. 98 lakh.
B Krishnareddy, GM, Nandini Milk Products, Bengaluru - 3 houses, 9 sites, 5.30 acres of agricultural land in Chintamani, 1 petrol pump in Hoskote, 383 grams of gold, 3.395 kgs of silver, cash Rs. 3 lakh.
The Big Haul
Name: SM Biradar
Designation: Junior Engineer, PWD
Place: Jewargi, Kalaburagi district
Property unearthed: 2 houses in Kalaburagi, 1 site in Bengaluru, 3 cars, 1 two-wheeler, 1 school bus, 2 tractors, cash Rs 54.50 lakh, 100 grams of gold, 36 acres of agricultural land, household goods worth Rs 12 lakh