BENGALURU: The Seshadripuram police have arrested five persons in connection with the embezzling of Rs 70 crore in compensation for land by creating false documents related to a six-acre land in Challaghatta near Kengeri. The police registered a case based on a complaint by DySP Mallesh of the BDA Vigilance Division.
The complaint was filed against 19 people, including government officials from BDA and the Revenue Department. The police have issued notice to the suspected government officers. Some officials are said to have gone incommunicado by switching off their mobile phones.
The arrested are Srinivas, Nagaraj, Ravi Kumar, Bharath, and Swamy. “Among the accused, Nagaraj has been taken into police custody while the remaining are remanded in judicial custody,” HT Shekhar, DCP (Central), said.
Accused Puttamma, Gangamma, Lakshmamma, Asha and the arrested five along with other private persons allegedly created fake documents and sought compensation even though they were not legitimate owners. Moodalappa, the original landowner, is said to have passed away in 1976. After his death, there were disputes pertaining to the property since 1992.
The accused government officers are alleged to have prepared an ambiguous report stating that the land was eligible for compensation without scrutiny of documents. The bank account was opened in Puttamma’s name in January, 2021 for transferring the compensation.