TDR scam: ACB raids Palike engineer, middlemen

Sleuths from the Anti-Corruption Bureau on Tuesday conducted simultaneous raids on the premises of an assistant executive engineer, BBMP, brokers, and a TDR applicant.

The raids were conducted at AEE M N Devaraju's residence in HSR Layout, broker K P Nagaraj's house in Kannuru village, another broker B Nagaraju's house in Yerappanahalli, and at the residence of Subba Rao, landowner and Transferable Development Rights (TDR) applicant.

According to a press release from ACB, they have seized documents related to the TDR scam from the four residences. Verification of the documents and further investigation is on, it said.

ACB officials have unearthed evidence pointing to the involvement of a few officers in the TDR scam, causing loss worth crores to the BBMP and state government.

The raids were conducted with regard to land survey number 149 of Rampura village of Bidarahalli over the widening of the Kothanur-Avalahalli main road.

The suspects used Subba Rao's name as Records of Rights Tenancy and Crops (RTC) holder for six buildings. But some others were staying there for the last 25 years and they even have the khata registered in the gram panchayat in their respective names.

The irregularity took place in 2013 by selling the TDRs through brokers. Though these six buildings were demolished six years ago, the road-widening work was not carried out.

In a separate case, on Monday, officials raided the senior sub-register officer, Bommanahalli sub-division, and a few other residences in connection with the tampering of documents of eight acres land in Bidarahalli.