BENGALURU: The CID probe into the multi-crore illegal hoardings scam involving some officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM), elected representatives and advertisers is likely to derail the investigation by the Lokayukta police, which will submit its final report soon.
Confirming this, highly placed sources told Express that the Lokayukta police has been investigating the scam for eight months and is going to submit its final report. The state government ordered a CID probe into the scam on Wednesday.
An official, on condition of anonymity, questioned the act of the government. “When the Lokayukta police wing has completed 80 per cent of the investigation, what is the need to order one more probe? That too when a parallel probe is not permitted?” he asked.
Sources in the Lokayukta said the police wing of the anti-corruption body have found 2,000 hoardings in eight BBMP zones which have caused the palike a loss worth crores. Illegal advertisements have come up in the city since 2008.
The investigation began in April 2015 after the then Lokayukta superintendent of police Sonia Narang, City Division, registered an FIR under Section 13 (1)(a) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act for abuse of official position and criminal misconduct.
Upa Lokayukta Justice Subhash B Adi ordered an investigation into the discrepancies on February 20, 2015. In his report, Justice Adi indicated loss of revenue due to advertisement to the tune of `1,000 crore per year.
According to sources in the Lokayukta, eight teams were formed by Sonia to ascertain the number of advertisements that are legal, illegal or involved in cases pending in the court. The teams have also looked into erection of hoardings on BBMP land and on private property, payment of tax and penalty collected from defaulters in the eight zones.
“Each team identified illegal hoardings, measuring their dimensions and noting down how much tax they need to pay as per the tariff fixed by the civic body. The team had conducted mahazar and panchnamas, besides video recording the drive. About 60 per cent of the city wing staff dedicated three months to complete it. Now, the only thing remaining is fixing the responsibility on erring officials and agencies,” sources in the Lokayukta said.
A top Lokayukta police official told Express, “Initially, an FIR was registered against a few officials of the BBMP and BESCOM, local elected representatives and advertisers. Both advertisement and government agencies had a hand in the illegalities and there is a nexus between elected representatives and officials. Even the BESCOM provided power to illegal hoardings. Many officials will soon find themselves in the dock. At this juncture, parallel probe cannot be ordered. Despite this, CID probe was ordered for reasons known best to the state.”
Lokayukta police are also investigating the case of a fake letterhead created in the name of Assistant Commissioner (Advertisement) K Mathai, who unearthed the scam to the extent of `2,000 crore per year.
H C Kishore Chandra, CID, DGP, said he had received a copy of the government ordering a CID probe. They will know about the investigation done by the Lokayukta police only after they start a probe. They will then take a final call.
Case Pending in High Court
The High Court issued a notice to the BBMP and the state government in response to a public interest litigation filed by social activist Sai Datta, seeking a CBI probe into the revenue loss to the local body due to unauthorised hoardings and flexes in the city. In the PIL, it is alleged that BBMP is not taking any action against illegal hoardings, therefore experiencing heavy revenue loss. It is only collecting `35 crore from 198 wards as advertisement revenue, he said.