News Karnataka
Friday, March 29 2024
Cricket
Bengaluru

ATI Rs.100 Crore scam: Justice Adi to hold inquiry in Mysuru on May 12

Photo Credit :

Bengaluru: Upa Lokayukta Justice Subhash B. Adi has begun inquiry into the alleged large-scale misappropriation of funds and violation of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act at the Administrative Training Institute (ATI) in Mysuru in the term – 2008-2014 – during the tenure of Dr. Amita Prasad as Director-General (DG).

File Photo

IAS officer V. Rashmi, who exposed the Rs. 100 crore scam at ATI, appeared before Justice Adi on recently in response to a notice issued to her. During the inquiry that lasted more than two hours, Rashmi produced several documents relating to the alleged misappropriation of funds.

In an order, Justice Adi said, “This complaint calls for a detailed probe and requires verification of original documents. Most of the transactions appear to be done without following the Transparency Act. I will visit Mysuru to hold an inquiry on May 12. Hence, I issue notice to the Deputy Director of ATI to be present in Mysuru on May 12.”

It may be recalled, ATI DG Rashmi was transferred along with four other IAS officers on Wednesday as the Secretary of Food Processing and Harvest Technology and all efforts by SOM to contact her for her reaction had gone in vain as she was in Bengaluru at that time. In her place, IAS officer M. Lakshminarayan, who has been transferred as Principal Secretary of Health and Family Welfare (Medical Education), has been posted along with the concurrent charge of DG at ATI.

According to Lokayukta sources, a notice was issued to Rashmi following a complaint filed by MLC. G. Madhusudan against the government for sitting on the recommendation for a comprehensive probe by Additional Chief Secretary T. M. Vijay Bhaskar. No internal audit was done after the issue surfaced but irregularities were found in the test audit conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for the year 2013-14, after Rashmi went public with the scam on Oct.16, 2014 after being assaulted at the ATI premises the previous day when she visited ATI to pay her last respects to Mess Manager Venkatesh, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a sump at the campus.

Madhusudan had appealed the Upa Lokayukta to direct the government to provide security to Rashmi and her family, who have faced several threats over this.

Lokayukta sources said there is concern that with Rashmi’s transfer, evidence she had collected, including 12,000 files kept in safe custody, may be destroyed.

Incidentally, Rashmi was transferred a few hours after Justice Adi issued notice to her to appear before him. What is strange is that she has been posted as Secretary of Food Processing and Harvest Technology, a department that became defunct a decade ago. It is said, this department has no staff or infrastructure and even the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) personnel don’t know where it is situated.

 

Share this:
MANY DROPS MAKE AN OCEAN
Support NewsKarnataka's quality independent journalism with a small contribution.

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

To get the latest news on WhatsApp