Lokayukta officials in Karnataka raided the house of a former clerk on Thursday and unearthed assets worth more than Rs 30 crore. The former Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development employee — with a salary of Rs 15,000 — also owned 24 houses, four plots of land and 40 acres of farmland. His residence was raided on Thursday in connection with an ongoing investigation into the misappropriation of Rs 72 crore from KRIDL.
Kalakappa Nidagundi and former KRIDL engineer ZM Chincholkar have been accused of siphoning funds by fabricating documents and generating fake bills for 96 infrastructure projects that were never completed. According to reports, the raid was launched after two executive engineers with the company (upon instructions from KRIDL MD Basavaaju) filed complaints against the duo.
Officials reportedly discovered at least 24 properties registered under the names of his wife and brother during the raid. Multiple cars and motorbikes were also seized alongside 350 grams of gold jewellery and 1.5 kilograms of silver ornaments.
Fabricated documents for over 5 years
According to reports, the accused fabricated documents and invoices for 96 projects — including sewage, road and drinking water initiatives for various locations — from 2019 to 2025. The projects reportedly included 19 in Kanakagiri, fivein Gangavathi , four in Yelburga as well as 68 in Koppal taluk.
Raids across Karnataka
Lokayukta officials conducted search operations across the State this week in connection with complaints regarding disproportionate asset cases against five government officials. The Karnataka authorities raided the residence of Jayanna, the Executive Engineer of the National Highways Authority of India in the Hassan division. The residence of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Pallike Revenue Officer N Venkatesh in Bengaluru was also raided. The series of raids followed similar statewide raids last week.
According to an India Today report, the Congress government in Karnataka is treating the issue with ‘due seriousness’. Multiple raids have been conducted across the state in July — with Koppal MLA K Raghavendra Hitnal vowing that officials will ‘ensure a comprehensive inquiry is conducted’ and take appropriate action.