Setback to Zameer Ahmed Khan: Lokayukta raids his PA Sarfaraj Khan, uncovers ₹14.38 crore assets
Bengaluru:
The Karnataka Lokayukta Police have unearthed assets worth ₹14.38 crore in raids conducted against a senior government officer, following simultaneous searches at more than 13 locations across Bengaluru and other places on December 24, 2025.
The searches were carried out in connection with a disproportionate assets case registered against Sarfaraz Khan, Director in the Co-operative Societies Audit Department, Bengaluru, who is currently serving as Secretary to the Housing and Minority Welfare Department on out-of-department duty (OOD).
Khan had earlier served as Joint Commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and held charge of the solid waste management department for the longest tenure, a role that placed him at the centre of many controversies pertaining to Bengaluru’s civic administration.
According to the Lokayukta, raids were conducted at the officer’s residence, office premises and properties linked to his relatives. The operation revealed extensive immovable and movable assets allegedly disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The seized immovable assets include four houses and 37 acres of agricultural land, together valued at ₹8.44 crore. Movable assets worth ₹5.93 crore were also detected, including jewellery valued at ₹2.99 crore, vehicles worth ₹1.64 crore, bank fixed deposits and other investments amounting to ₹1.29 crore, and cash of ₹66,500.
In total, the Lokayukta Police have assessed the value of assets found during the searches at ₹14,38,19,653.
The disproportionate assets case has been registered at the Lokayukta Police Station, Bagalkote, and further investigation is under way to ascertain the extent of alleged violations under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Earlier, In June 2025, an audio clip surfaced of a phone conversation between Congress MLA B.R. Patil (Aland) and Sarfaraz Khan, who is also the personal assistant to Karnataka Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan.
In that recording, the MLA alleged that houses under the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation were being allotted only to those who paid bribes and that his own recommendations were ignored — and warned that “if I open my mouth, the government will be shaken.”
The audio clip was widely shared online and sparked a political controversy and calls for investigation from opposition leaders, while the Housing Minister said he was open to a probe.