Representative Image. Photo Credit: The News Minute
Lokayukta-Crypto: 35 cases registered across Karnataka in 8 years for posing as Lokayukta sleuths, crypto wallets under scanner
The Karnataka Lokayukta data show that in the last 8 years 35 cases have been registered in several police stations across Karnataka for allegedly posing as Lokayukta officials and extorting money from the government employees. I
The Lokayukta has collated this data after they found, a man identified as Nigappa Sawant (46) from Chitradurga district has been extorting money from government officials for the last six months. Savanta has been using names of Lokayukta sleuths to threaten his targets.
The Lokayukta learnt about the same after a government employee filed a complaint in a local police station. After the arrest, the Lokayukta raided the house of Superintendent of Police (Bengaluru City-1), Lokayukta, in Bengaluru, Srinath Mahadev Joshi. Joshi was relieved from office on June 12. The officer was not present at the house during the time of the raid.
The Lokayukta during the course of investigation found 13 cryptocurrency wallets linked to Sawant. The sources in the Lokayukta say that he was investing the extorted money in cryptocurrency exchanges and he was allegedly acting at the behest of insiders in the Lokayukta. His arrest has led to the opening pandora box of extortion using the Karnataka’ ombudsman body’ name. This has also raised questions about the credibility of officials in this anti-corruption organisation.
35 cases across the state
According to the data shared by the Lokayukta, 35 First Information Reports (FIR) are registered in 25 different police stations in various districts. Of the 35, seven cases are filed in Vidhana Soudha police station. The Lokayukta have to now look into each case and rule out any links with the insiders including former SP, Joshi.