Karnataka Lokayukta raids 35 locations, unearths assets worth over ₹31 crore in disproportionate assets cases against eight officials

The Karnataka Lokayukta police on Tuesday conducted simultaneous searches at over 35 locations across the State in connection with disproportionate assets (DA) cases registered against eight government officers.

The raids were carried out at the residences, offices and properties of relatives of the accused officials in Bengaluru city, and Bengaluru Rural, Davangere, Kalaburagi and Chikkamagaluru districts.

According to the Lokayukta, the searches revealed movable and immovable assets collectively valued at over ₹31.11 crore. The assets include residential houses, sites, agricultural lands, commercial properties, cash, gold and silver ornaments, vehicles, bank deposits and other valuables.

Among the officials searched were Rajanna S.L., Additional Director of Town Planning in the Karnataka Housing Board; Uday Kumar M.B., Assistant Executive Engineer with Bescom; Harshavardhan P.N., Deputy Conservator of Forests; Siddeshwar N. Hebbal, Chief Mechanical Engineer of NWKRTC; Sanna Kenchappa, Superintendent Engineer of KRIDL; Krishna Naik L.A., Secretary of the Bayaluseeme Area Development Board; Manik S. Kanakatte, Superintendent Engineer in the Public Works Department; and K.S. Mohan, Assistant Conservator of Forests.

The Lokayukta stated that immovable properties worth about ₹22.73 crore and movable assets worth ₹8.38 crore were detected during the searches.

The highest-value assets were allegedly found in the possession of Rajanna S.L., whose properties and valuables were estimated at ₹7.10 crore. Manik S. Kanakatte was found to possess assets worth approximately ₹4.95 crore, while Harshavardhan P.N. was linked to assets valued at around ₹4.85 crore.

Investigators also recovered substantial quantities of cash, gold and silver ornaments, luxury vehicles and bank deposits from several locations. In one case, officials seized cash worth ₹37 lakh and gold and silver ornaments valued at over ₹1.23 crore.

The Lokayukta police said the searches were part of ongoing investigation into allegations that the officials had amassed wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income. Further scrutiny of documents, financial records and property transactions is under way.

The operation is among the largest coordinated anti-corruption drives conducted by the Karnataka Lokayukta in recent months and is expected to lead to further legal action based on the evidence collected during the raids.