Engineer raided for corruption posted to Lokayukta

An engineer with the Public Works Department, who was twice raided by the Lokayukta for acquiring illegal wealth, has been posted to the anti-corruption watchdog to investigate cases of irregularities in public works.

The state government recently transferred many government engineers, including M N Devaraj, who has been posted to the Lokayukta.

Ironically, the Lokayukta had raided Devaraj’s residence in 2008 when he was on deputation to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), and found him owning Rs 1.61 crore worth disproportionate assets. He was raided again in 2011 over some other irregularities.

Devaraj was also booked by the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) in 2015 for cheating.

He was accused of trying to help the proprietor of Good Homes Ventures and forging documents to obtain the transferable development rights (TDR) certificate pertaining to a land in Battarahalli village.

In this instance, he was booked under various sections of the IPC and the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act.

When contacted, Upalokayukta Justice Subhash B Adi said people with such a tainted record would be sent back.

“If he was raided on corruption charges by the Lokayukta, we will not allow him to stay in our institution,” Justice Adi said.