Mangalore: Lokayukta Officials Seize Cheques Amounting to Rs 1.13 Crore from AEE
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network—Mangalore (RS/CN)
Mangalore, Sep 8: Lokayukta police in the city who were investigating a complaint against an assistant executive engineer (AEE) in the Panchayat Raj engineering department, found signed cheques amounting to Rs 1.13 crore in his possession on Tuesday September 8.
T S Lokesh is the officer who was trapped by Lokayukta officials based on a complaint by Haji Hameed who is a contractor for the public works department. In his complaint, Hameed said the officer had demanded Rs 1.13 crore as bribe from his contract bill of Rs 3.5 crore, for several works as ELR under the Pradhana Mantri Grameena Sadak Yojane.
The AEE works for the Karnataka Rural Road Development Agency in the Panchayat Raj engineering department.
Sadandanda Vernekar, deputy superintendent of police, Lokayukta police, who headed the investigation, said that they had enquired at the office of Lokesh. “We have found a cheque-book in his bag which contains 10 signed blank leaves”, he added.
Lokesh claimed that the cheques were for distribution to the people who were providing the material for the work. He added, “As the ELR work was undertaken urgently when the contractor refused to work, the material was sourced from others. So we are responsible for paying their dues”.
He also said that the cheque was taken as an assurance of payment and the listed money is not a bribe but payment for the material providers.
The Lokayukta officials said that along with Lokesh, his colleague Santhosh Kumar, assistant executive engineer, and Narasimharaju, chief executive engineer, had also been mentioned in this case. Santhosh Kumar had shown a list which had the names of those who were to receive the bribe money. The list includes their senior officer Narasimharaju.
Vernekar said that the case will be filed after conducting a detailed investigation. Inspector Udaya M Naik and other officials were also involved in the raid and investigation.