Officers suspended

Regional Commissioner (Mysore Division) M V Jayanthi has issued an order suspending shirastedars (Revenue) Gopalkrishna at Virajpet and Chandramouli at Somwarpet and N M Muddappa, deputy tahsildar at Napoklu, who was shirastedar at Madikeri during the period in question.

Legislative Council member M C Nanaiah had written to the State government about rampant irregularities in the sale of agricultural land, in violation of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act 1961.

Accordingly, the Government appointed a committee comprising Undersecretary (Special Cell) G S Gurusiddaiah and Additional Commissioner (Mysore division)  M Manjunath Naik to investigate into the illegal land deals.

The team scrutinised 29 documents pertaining to the land deals in the three taluks of Kodagu district and submitted a report, indicting the two shirastedars and the deputy tahsildar.

However, Undersecretary to the Revenue Department (Special Cell) K Boralingaiah has kept in abeyance the recommendation to suspend the accused on the ground that there was no evidence of their direct involvement  in the irregularities.