Bengaluru: The Karnataka Lokayukta carried out a massive anti‑corruption operation on Thursday, February 13, 2026, raiding 29 locations linked to four state government officials over allegations of amassing assets disproportionate to their known income. Among those under scrutiny were PWD Chief Engineer Purushotham Das Hegde and Superintendent Engineer H M Janardhana, along with officers from BESCOM and the Land Records Department.
The raids, spanning Bengaluru, Bengaluru Rural, Davanagere and Dharwad districts, uncovered a wide array of unaccounted wealth, including cash, gold, silver, agricultural land, houses and educational institutions, with estimates running into tens of crores of rupees. Lokayukta officials continue to examine documents and financial records before initiating legal proceedings under the Prevention of Corruption framework.
Coordinated Searches Uncover Massive Unaccounted Wealth
In a statement to the press, Lokayukta officials said the operation began early in the morning and involved teams carrying out simultaneous searches at residences, offices, and properties linked to the accused and their relatives.
The searches covered 14 locations associated with Purushotham Das Hegde who serves as chief engineer and project director of the Karnataka State Highway Development Project (KSHDP) where officials found both immovable and movable assets valued at approximately ₹12.84 crore. These included one site, two residential houses, two educational institutions, and over 11 acres of agricultural land, alongside significant cash holdings, gold and silver jewellery, and fixed deposits.
Similar scrutiny of H M Janardhana’s properties, a superintendent engineer with the Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society (KREIS), revealed assets estimated at around ₹5.77 crore, comprising three houses, a substantial tract of farmland (34 acres), vehicles, jewellery and cash.
In an earlier related discovery, a Lokayukta official confirmed the seizure of ₹1.70 crore in cash from a flat linked to Janardhana’s friend, Sujay Shetty, as part of searches in the disproportionate assets case against him.
The operation also extended to officers outside Bengaluru. In Davanagere, assets worth about ₹2.49 crore were found linked to Arjun R H, assistant executive engineer (civil) with BESCOM, including multiple houses, land and other valuables. In Dharwad, searches at four locations tied to Somalingappa Fakkirappa Siddanagoudar, a survey supervisor in the Assistant Director of Land Records office, uncovered properties and movable assets totalling approximately ₹2.64 crore.
While the precise details of how these assets allegedly relate to each official’s declared income are still under verification, Lokayukta sources said the volume and value of the seized wealth are “disproportionate” to known sources of lawful income, prompting continued investigations. Officials are now auditing property titles, bank transactions, business records and related documentation as part of the next phase of the probe.
Context: Karnataka’s Broader Anti‑Corruption Push
The latest operation reflects a wider pattern of anti‑corruption action by the Karnataka Lokayukta in recent years. Previous high‑profile raids across the state have unearthed disproportionate assets from multiple government officers spanning different departments and locations, highlighting systemic concerns about abuse of public office. In May 2025, Lokayukta police uncovered assets totalling ₹26.55 crore from four officials in separate cases, spanning health, land records and urban water departments.
In 2025, the watchdog’s teams also raided the premises of senior administrative officers including an IAS officer accused of possessing over ₹9 crore in assets incongruent with her official income the first raid of its kind in a decade.
These operations have often involved coordinated searches across multiple districts and have included the seizure of cash, land, livestock, vehicles, jewellery and business holdings. Independent Lokayukta court proceedings have underscored entrenched corruption, with one judge noting that “trapping of over 50 government officers within just eight months reflects how deeply corruption has taken hold in public offices.”
The Prevention of Corruption Act remains the principal legal basis for these investigations. Lokayukta officials say that early morning raids are strategically carried out to prevent suspects from destroying evidence, and are backed by detailed intelligence gathering and financial scrutiny teams.
However, it can take months or even years for cases to reach trial courts due to the complexity of asset valuation and legal challenges. Nonetheless, successive operations have signalled the Lokayukta’s fortification of anti‑corruption mechanisms and a renewed focus on accountability.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Corruption erodes public trust and diverts precious resources away from citizens to enrich a few. While the Karnataka Lokayukta’s recent raids demonstrate institutional resolve to expose and investigate alleged wrongdoing, true justice requires transparent follow‑through from timely prosecution to fair adjudication and restitution where warranted.
We must balance the imperative to dismantle corrupt networks with safeguards for due process, ensuring innocent individuals are not unjustly penalised and that accountability is rooted in evidence and equity.
