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Karnataka:CID to probe ‘fake’ letters accusing minister of graft
Hours before the CM’s statement, VS Ashok, joint director of the agriculture department in Mandya district had lodged a complaint demanding a probe into the fabricated letter.
Bengaluru: After the chief minister Siddaramaiah ordered the police department to probe the alleged fake letter accusing agriculture minister N Cheluvarayaswamy of demanding bribes from officials, it has been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
“With regard to the purported letter written by the agriculture officers against the agriculture minister, it has been decided to conduct a CID inquiry. The chief minister decided to hand over the matter to the CID after discussing with home minister Dr G Parameshwara,” the CM’s office said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
Siddaramaiah earlier on Tuesday said, “Cheluvarayaswamy has said the letter is fake, I have told police to investigate the matter. The joint director of the agricultural department has also given a statement on the same. So, I have asked the police to investigate and find out the truth.”
Hours before the CM’s statement, VS Ashok, joint director of the agriculture department in Mandya district had lodged a complaint with the superintendent of police demanding a probe into the fabricated letter.
In his official complaint, joint director Ashok conveyed that he had conducted inquiries among the assistant directors, and their responses clarified that they had not submitted any complaint to the governor. The assistant directors firmly stated that they had experienced no mistreatment, asserting that the entire episode had been orchestrated and executed with malicious intent.
Echoing this concern, several Congress representatives, including MLAs Ramesh Babu Bandisidde Gowda and Ravikumar Gowda, along with MLCs Madhu G Made Gowda and Dinesh Gooligowda, have also formally reported the matter to the police.
The complainant asked the police to identify the individuals responsible for tarnishing the department’s reputation through propagandist activities. The complaint underscored that the signatures of the seven assistant directors from the agriculture department had been counterfeited, suggesting a meticulously planned scheme aimed at coercing the officials.
Subsequently, the police initiated an investigation into the matter. Additional superintendent of police Thimmaiah visited the Mandya agriculture department office to gather preliminary information pertinent to the case.
On Monday, the Karnataka governor’s office wrote to the State Chief Secretary’s office seeking a probe into corruption allegations against Chaluvarayaswamy. This comes after the Governor’s Office received a letter written by seven officers from the agriculture department accusing the minister of demanding a bribe of ₹6 to 8 lakh. In the purported letter, which the minister termed as fake, officials mentioned that they would resort to extreme measures, like consuming poison, if no action was taken against the minister.
However Chaluvarayaswamy denied any knowledge of the letters and labelled them as fake. He stated that he had not received any such communication and questioned the authority of the directors who penned the letters. Nevertheless, he expressed willingness to cooperate with a thorough investigation if any errors or irregularities were found.
The letter was allegedly written by a group of agricultural department officials in Mandya district, which is the minister’s home district. The governor, in response to the letters received, instructed the Chief Secretary of Karnataka, Vandita Sharma, to investigate the matter thoroughly and take appropriate action.
Responding to the controversy, home minister G Parameshwara said that officials of the agriculture department have said that the letter is fake. “I will speak to the SP and enquire about the complaint made by the department officials… I will also ask the cyber department to identify these people (creating fake letters),” he said.
BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai said that when a letter goes from the office of the Governor it is a matter of concern and it should be investigated thoroughly.
