ACB raids 11 officials in state for 'ill-gotten' wealth

Anti Corruption Bureau officials on Wednesday raided 11 government officials across the state on credible information that thye owned disproportionate assets.

The raids were conducted in Bengaluru, Ballari, Bantwala in Dakshnia Kannada district, Koratagere in Tumakuru district, Chikkaballapura, Ankola in Uttara Kannada district and Kittur in Belagavi.

The officials raided are, M C Shashikumar, joint director of planning at Directorate of Town and Country Planning, Bengaluru; J V Thyagaraj, assistant engineer, BBMP (Basavanagudi) in Bengaluru; S M Vasanna, joint director, Factory and Boilers, Bengaluru; S Shashavali, Commissioner, Vijayanagar Area Development Authority in Ballari; H B Mallappa, executive engineer at Minor Irrigation department in Kalaburagi; Francis Miranda, assistant director of agriculture in Bantwala; G C Jagadish, assistant executive engineer of PWD in Koratagere; D Hemanth, assistant executive engineer, Minor Irrigation department, Chikkaballapura; Chandrahasa, executive engineer at Panchayat Raj Engineering department in Mandya, Panduranga Keshava Pai, assistant conservation of forests in Ankola and Suresh Bhima Naik, assistant executive engineer of PWD in Kittur.

A senior official said that the searches were still on till Wednesday night at various premises belonging to the government servants. Details about the documents related to assets could be known in a day or two.

Sources said that H B Malappa, executive engineer at Minor irrigation department in Kalaburagi, was earlier posted at Shivamogga and transferred to Kalburagi four months ago. Police said he owns houses in Shivamogga and Bengaluru, and his rented house in Kalaburagi was searched.

Meanwhile, ACB sleuths searched a farm house and a residence in Bengaluru belonging to Hemanth, assistant executive engineer of PWD in Chikkaballapur.