SIT names Ashwin as prime accused in third chargesheet

'Lokayukta's son took Rs 15L bribe from ex-ZP member for change of khata'

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing corruption and extortion cases within Lokayukta, on Wednesday filed the third charge sheet in the complaint by former Zilla Panchayat member P N Krishnamurthy.

The SIT has named Yerabati Ashwin and suspended Joint Commissioner (PRO) Syed Riyaz as the prime accused along with the other members of extortion gang V Bhaskar, H S Rajashekhar, Narasimha Rao and Sadiq Pasha. The SIT has pressed charges under Sections 384, 420, 120 (b) of IPC and under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.

The SIT has stated that Ashwin took money to expedite change of khata process pertaining to Krishnamurthy's property near Sony Signal in Koramangala.
The probe revealed that Riyaz has put pressure on revenue officials to execute change of khata. The investigation has also revealed that Krishnamurthy had paid Rs 15 lakh to Ashwin through Bhaskar, Narasimha Rao and Rajashekhar.

In 2014, Krishnamurthy came in contact with Ashwin through his friend Narasimha Rao from Hyderabad. Krishnamurthy had met Ashwin at a room on the eighth floor of a star hotel in UB City. Initially, Krishnamurthy requested Ashwin to settle his dispute with Rajarajeshwarinagar MLA Muniratna.

When Ashwin could not settle the dispute, Krishnamurthy again contacted Ashwin for getting a khata for his property in Koramangala. Ashwin said he would get the khata cleared and demanded Rs 20 lakh for the work. From September 19, 2014, Krishnamurthy had paid Rs 15 lakh in three instalments to Ashwin and Narasimha Rao.

The probe revealed that Krishnamurthy had also transferred Rs 90,000 to Narasimha Rao's bank account in Hyderabad.

The extortion gang had also collected the original land documents from Krishnamurthy and it was with Syed Riyaz in his chamber. When Krishnamurthy asked for his documents, Riyaz threatened to destroy the originals if the balance money was not paid. When the original documents could not be collected, Krishnamurthy threatened to approach the police.

At that time, Bhaskar again demanded Rs two lakh to return the original papers. The original documents were returned to Krishnamurthy only after he paid Rs two lakh to Bhaskar.

The SIT has so far filed three charge sheets in connection with the ongoing investigation into the extortion racket. In the first two cases also the SIT has named Syed Riyaz and Ashwin as the main accused.