A formal complaint alleging a Rs 60 lakh bribe demand to clear stone-crusher and land-conversion files in Hassan has been submitted to the Karnataka Lokayukta by Arakalgud MLA and JD(S) leader A Manju, who has sought a comprehensive and impartial investigation.
Manju told reporters on Friday that the alleged demand involved Hassan deputy commissioner KS Latha Kumari’s personal assistant, Shashikiran, and an alleged middleman. The MLA said he had submitted WhatsApp conversations and documents to the Lokayukta, asking the anti-corruption agency to examine the material and take action against everyone found involved, irrespective of their position.
According to Manju, the conversations allegedly discussed money, the pledging of gold jewellery and the distribution of amounts among different individuals. He also claimed that the chats contained derogatory references to the deputy commissioner, the district minister and an MP. The allegations have not been established by an investigation, and the complaint seeks examination of the evidence by the Lokayukta.
Manju questioned the timing of the alleged complaint and claimed that deputy commissioner Latha Kumari had pressured Shashikiran to lodge a complaint only after Union minister HD Kumaraswamy raised the issue. He asked why action had not been initiated earlier. The report did not include a response from the deputy commissioner, her personal assistant or the alleged middleman to the allegations.
The MLA also accused Latha Kumari of crossing administrative boundaries by making political statements against elected representatives. Referring to the 1968 rules governing Indian Administrative Service officers, he questioned whether she had obtained permission from her superiors before making such statements. These assertions were part of Manju’s demands and allegations accompanying his call for action.
The dispute also highlights the administrative consequences of delays in district-level file processing. Manju claimed that around 15,000 to 16,000 files were pending in the deputy commissioner’s office and said the backlog was causing hardship to farmers. The source report did not provide an official figure for the pending files or specify how many related to land conversion or stone-crusher permissions.
Land-conversion approvals and permissions linked to stone crushers involve government scrutiny and can affect land use, construction activity, local livelihoods and environmental administration. In this case, the complaint places the alleged payment demand within that approval process, but the available report does not establish whether any file was cleared, rejected or held up because of the alleged demand.
Separately, a delegation of JD(S) legislators led by CB Suresh Babu submitted a complaint to Karnataka chief secretary Shalini Rajneesh on Wednesday, seeking a comprehensive investigation. The Lokayukta complaint and the legislators’ representation now place the allegations before state-level authorities. The next formal step will depend on the response of the Lokayukta and the chief secretary’s office to the complaints and supporting material submitted.
