Ex-Karnataka Clerk Owns 24 Houses, ₹30 Crore Assets on ₹15,000 Salary

Ex-Karnataka Clerk Owns 24 Houses, ₹30 Crore Assets: A big scam has come to light after Karnataka Lokayukta officials raided a former clerk at Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL) in Koppal. He has 24 houses, 40 acres of land and unaccounted assets worth ₹30 crore.

He gets a monthly salary of ₹15,000 but has properties worth crores in his name and in the name of his wife and brother.

The big scam was exposed after a raid by Karnataka Lokayukta officials as part of its crackdown on misuse of official positions and amassing wealth more than the declared sources of income.

Also, officials seized gold worth ₹30 lakh (approximately 350 grams) and more than 1.5 kilograms of silver, according to the report.

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According to ANI, the officers who are under investigation in disproportionate assets cases are Jayanna R, National Highway Hassan Division in Hassan; K Omprakash, Senior Assistant Director of Horticulture, BDA, Bengaluru; N Venkatesh, Tax Accessor, Shettyhalli Sub-Division, BBMP, Bengaluru, Venkatesh G, Taluk Health Officer, Hiriyur Taluk, Chitradurga District andExecutive Engineer, National Highway Hassan Division in Hassan; K Omprakash, Senior Assistant Director of Horticulture, BDA, Bengaluru; N Venkatesh, Tax Accessor, Shettyhalli Sub-Division, BBMP, Bengaluru, Venkatesh G, Taluk Health Officer, Hiriyur Taluk, Chitradurga District and Anjaneya Murthy M, Junior Engineer, Rural Drinking Water and Sanitization Department, Gowribidanuru Tq, Chikkaballapur District.

The investigation was launched after a complaint of ₹72 crore scam at KRIDL.

The scam involved fake projects and forged documents and other officials and a cement supplier.

Nidagundi is accused of colluding with former KRIDL Engineer ZM Chincholkar in this scam.

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They allegedly siphoned off funds meant for 96 unfinished projects by creating bogus bills and documents. Koppal MLA K Raghavendra Hitnal said the government is serious about this.

He said a thorough probe will be conducted to find out how Nidagundi accumulated such wealth.

The authorities are now trying to find out whether the assets were acquired during his service through corruption or through fake bill scam after he left service.

Nidagundi was dismissed a few months ago. Chincholkar was terminated earlier but is still in service due to a court order.

As part of these raids, a team of Lokayukta officials led by CPI Parashuram Kavatagi and supervised by Dy SP Pushpalatha and Officer PS Patil is examining documents, cash holdings and property records.

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