Arrested Tahsildar faced probe for illegal land diversion

Bengaluru South Tahsildar Dr B R Dayananda, who was arrested by the Lokayukta police on Monday for forging documents, was facing a departmental action in connection with illegal diversion of land belonging to the Vijaya Bank House Building Co-operative Society.

Sources in the Revenue Department said that in July this year, the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district, V Shankar, had cancelled the diversion of land and ordered a departmental enquiry against Dayananda, leading to relations between the two officials going sour. Shankar is an IAS officer and Dayananda an KAS officer.

In the meantime, vehicles and computers from the deputy commissioner’s office were confiscated in the Chikka Kallasandra lake case following a court decree. The district authorities reportedly failed to present the case strongly in the lower court, which had passed the order in favour of a petitioner whose properties were demolished.

On the court’s direction, the petitioner took away computers and vehicles from the deputy commissioner’s office. The district authorities said they were busy with the BBMP elections at the time. Hence, they could not get to know about the court order. The incident was only a reflection on the differences between the deputy commissioner and the tahsildar.

Following his arrest, Dayananda now faces suspension. As per the Karnataka Civil Services Manual, an officer who is in judicial or police custody for more than 24 hours is deemed suspended from service.