BENGALURU:Yerabati Ashwin, in the news for his alleged involvement in an extortion racket at the Karnataka Lokayukta, believes someone is out to defame his father Lokayukta Y Bhaskar Rao.
For the first time, Ashwin (his official name does not have the Rao suffix) has come out to defend himself as the furore threatens to cost his father the Lokayukta’s job. “I think people who will benefit from my father’s resignation are behind these false allegations,” he told
Express. An engineer called Krishna Murthy has alleged he was called to the Lokayukta’s office and asked to pay Rs 1 crore to escape a raid. Ashwin (46) was allegedly one of the ‘agents’ who negotiated with him. On the days mentioned by the investigators, Ashwin says, he was at the US Consulate in Hyderabad, seeking a visa.
On Tuesday, Ashwin met Lokayukta IGP Pranab Mohanty and submitted documents to support his claim. Describing his father as “a strong wall that may shake, but will never fall”, he said Rao is not putting in his papers. He said he had no idea about the identity of Krishna Rao, the agent who had claimed to be the Lokayukta’s secretary and demanded money from officials.
‘SP Sought My Help’
Ashwin claimed Lokayukta Superintendent of Police Sonia Narang had sought his help to get a posting in the anti-corruption agency. “She met me thrice and all meetings were at the Lokayukta’s official residence. Once, she had come with someone called Narasimha Murthy and on the other two occasions, she was accompanied by her husband,” he said. He said he had helped her by speaking to a common friend.
When contacted by Express, Sonia Narang admitted the meetings took place at the Lokayukta’s residence in September and October, 2014. “I did not go there on my own. In fact, I got a call that the Lokayukta would like to see me. When I went there, the Lokayukta was not around. Ashwin asked me if I would like to be posted in the Lokayukta. I said I was willing to work wherever the government posted me and would work to uphold the dignity and honour of the institution,” she said. She fears attempts are being made to demoralise her as she is proceeding with the investigation.