BENGALURU, 19 JULY

Mangaluru City Municipal Commissioner CL Anand was among the 13 government officials raided by Lokayukta sleuths on Friday in connection with disproportionate assets cases, a Lokayukta official said.

Anand is a senior grade Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS) officer, who was posted as Mangaluru City Corporation Commissioner in June, 2023.

The government had transferred him on 4 July after which he appealed to the State government against it. On 9 July, his transfer was cancelled.

Apart from Anand, premises of Hebbagodi City Municipal Council Commissioner in Bengaluru Rural and KAS officer K Narasimha Murthy were raided by Lokayukta sleuths.

The Additional Director in the Industries and Commerce Department CT Muddu Kumar, who is on deputation as the Chief Operating Officer in the Invest Karnataka Forum, too was the target of Lokayukta sleuths.

Yadgir Zilla Panchayat Project Director Balwant Rathod, Senior Veterinary Officer in Bengaluru Rural district R Siddappa, Commercial Taxes Joint Commissioner Ramesh Kumar, Legal Metrology Deputy Controller Athhar Ali, Antargange Gram Panchayat president Nagesh B Gowda in Bhadravati Taluk of Shivamogga district, Horticulture Department Deputy Director Prakash and Mandya Labour Officer Chetan Kumar were among those raided on Friday.

According to the official, the raids were carried out in Bengaluru, Tumakuru, Shivamogga, Yadgiri and Kalaburagi. "Officials commenced the raid early this morning at 54 locations involving over 100 sleuths," the official said. PTI