BENGALURU: Upa Lokayukta Justice B Veerappa on Tuesday took up a suo motu cognisance of a blunder made by a panchayat officer in Belagavi district by showing a farmer as ‘dead’ in records when he is alive.
Justice Veerappa has registered case against Assistant Commissioner of Bailahongal Praveen Jain, Tahsildar of Savadatti taluk Mallikarjun Hegganavara, Revenue Inspector of Murugodu Circle RS Patil and Village Administrative Officer (VAO) Neela Murugod, Sutagatti village of Savadatti taluk in Belagavi.
The Upa Lokayukta has called for an action taken report by February 23. He also marked a copy to the Deputy Commissioner of Belagavi, Principal Secretary to the Revenue Department and the District in-charge Minister of Belagavi.
According to the suo motu complaint, the farmer, Erappa Nagappa Abbayi (53), a native of Sutagatti village, went from Belagavi to Bengaluru with an application to show that he is still alive and highlight the alleged mistake by the VAO.
The mistake was said to have happened when Erappa applied for the death certificate of a family member on July 8, 2021. Instead of giving the death certificate of the deceased, the VAO was said to have recorded that the applicant, Erappa, was dead in the documents.
For five years, the blunder did not come to the notice of Erappa. This came to light when he applied for a grant for drip irrigation in July 2025, after the death certificate was handed over to him.
When he contacted the authorities to rectify the blunder, they sent him back, saying that they are in constant touch with their counterparts in Bengaluru, since they cannot rectify the mistake on their own.