<p>In a day-long raid conducted by the investigation wing of the quasi judicial body, as many as 10 properties associated with Balakrishna Gowda in the City and one in Mysore were raided.<br /><br />The raid was conducted on the basis of a private complaint filed by a retired government official, Balakrishna, who had alleged that after retiring from the Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS) in 2005 Gowda amassed wealth to the tune of Rs 500 crore between 2005-2008. The Special Lokayukta Court handed over the investigation to Lokayukta police on September 24.<br /><br />“The raids were conducted in accordance with the private complaint filed with the Lokayukta court. In total nine teams were involved in the raids across the City and one in Mysore,” Lokayukta ADGP J V Gaonkar said.<br /><br />The raids began at 6 am and completed by nightfall. The three residential properties which were raided include Gowda’s residence in Padmanabhanagar, his father-in-law, Honappa’s residence at Ittigegud in Mysore and his sister-in-law Savitha’s house in Vijayanagar.<br /><br />The commercial spaces that are under the Lokayukta scanner include Banashankari and Shakambhari Enterprises in Padmanabhanagar, Rajarajeshwari Polymers in Nayandahalli, Rajarajeshwari Creations on Bellary Road, West Palm Developments, Kunal Enterprises in Lalbagh and Golden Gate Properties in Koramangala.<br /><br />According to Lokayukta sources, the raid on Kunal Enterprises, run by Gowda’s son, Kunal Gowda, was conducted to ascertain whether his father was a shareholder or partner in the business. <br /><br />Sources said the raid was conducted specifically on Kunal Enterprises to trace whether the firm was used as a front to purchase high value properties here. The Jnana Sweekar Public School in Talaghattapura on Kanakapura Road was searched for evidence as Balakrishna and his wife Kavitha both hold management positions in the school.<br /><br /><br /><br />The Lokayukta police, overseen by a City-based DySP and the SP in Mysore siezed property documents and other materials which, sources said, showed traces of the Gowda family’s involvement in buying IT company space in Bangalore.<br /><br /> “These properties appear to have been purchased from West Palm Development Private Limited, belonging to Prestige Estates and from Golden Gate Properties,” the source said.<br />Gowda’s daughter, Keerthana, and his wife, Kavitha, were present during the raid on the residence and co-operated with Lokayukta sleuths. <br /><br />The Lokayukta police said that the police teams were conducting an inventory of the valuables recovered from the residential properties here and in Mysore. <br /><br />Documents related to property transactions, bank documents, transactions made from the school and financial documents related to film ventures conducted through Rajarajeshwari Creations have been seized.<br /><br />On October 10, the Special Lokayukta court chided the police to speed up investgations as it felt the progress was slow. <br /><br />A report will be submitted by the Lokayukta police to the court on October 26.<br /></p>
<p>In a day-long raid conducted by the investigation wing of the quasi judicial body, as many as 10 properties associated with Balakrishna Gowda in the City and one in Mysore were raided.<br /><br />The raid was conducted on the basis of a private complaint filed by a retired government official, Balakrishna, who had alleged that after retiring from the Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS) in 2005 Gowda amassed wealth to the tune of Rs 500 crore between 2005-2008. The Special Lokayukta Court handed over the investigation to Lokayukta police on September 24.<br /><br />“The raids were conducted in accordance with the private complaint filed with the Lokayukta court. In total nine teams were involved in the raids across the City and one in Mysore,” Lokayukta ADGP J V Gaonkar said.<br /><br />The raids began at 6 am and completed by nightfall. The three residential properties which were raided include Gowda’s residence in Padmanabhanagar, his father-in-law, Honappa’s residence at Ittigegud in Mysore and his sister-in-law Savitha’s house in Vijayanagar.<br /><br />The commercial spaces that are under the Lokayukta scanner include Banashankari and Shakambhari Enterprises in Padmanabhanagar, Rajarajeshwari Polymers in Nayandahalli, Rajarajeshwari Creations on Bellary Road, West Palm Developments, Kunal Enterprises in Lalbagh and Golden Gate Properties in Koramangala.<br /><br />According to Lokayukta sources, the raid on Kunal Enterprises, run by Gowda’s son, Kunal Gowda, was conducted to ascertain whether his father was a shareholder or partner in the business. <br /><br />Sources said the raid was conducted specifically on Kunal Enterprises to trace whether the firm was used as a front to purchase high value properties here. The Jnana Sweekar Public School in Talaghattapura on Kanakapura Road was searched for evidence as Balakrishna and his wife Kavitha both hold management positions in the school.<br /><br /><br /><br />The Lokayukta police, overseen by a City-based DySP and the SP in Mysore siezed property documents and other materials which, sources said, showed traces of the Gowda family’s involvement in buying IT company space in Bangalore.<br /><br /> “These properties appear to have been purchased from West Palm Development Private Limited, belonging to Prestige Estates and from Golden Gate Properties,” the source said.<br />Gowda’s daughter, Keerthana, and his wife, Kavitha, were present during the raid on the residence and co-operated with Lokayukta sleuths. <br /><br />The Lokayukta police said that the police teams were conducting an inventory of the valuables recovered from the residential properties here and in Mysore. <br /><br />Documents related to property transactions, bank documents, transactions made from the school and financial documents related to film ventures conducted through Rajarajeshwari Creations have been seized.<br /><br />On October 10, the Special Lokayukta court chided the police to speed up investgations as it felt the progress was slow. <br /><br />A report will be submitted by the Lokayukta police to the court on October 26.<br /></p>
