Karnataka govt engineer refuses to open dooras anti-corruption sleuths came knocking

Bengaluru: An anti-corruption raid in Hassan led to a dramatic standoff Wednesday as a municipal corporation engineer refused to open the gates of his home for more than three hours after anti-corruption officers arrived to search his property.The operation was part of a statewide crackdown by Lokayukta, with simultaneous raids conducted at the homes and offices of nine govt officials across districts, including Bengaluru, Hassan, Mandya, Gadag, Mysuru, Vijayapura and Yadgiri.
However, the spotlight quickly shifted to Hassan, where Lokayukta sleuths reached the residence of Sathyanarayana MC, assistant executive engineer with the Hassan Mahanagara Palike, around 5:30am. Instead of opening the gates, the engineer allegedly locked himself inside the house and remained silent, triggering tense scenes outside the multi-storey building.The sleuths noticed a CCTV camera installed on the premises and used it to communicate, repeatedly asking him to open the door. When there was still no response, officers climbed the compound wall and knocked on several doors inside the building, but the house remained shut.At one point, the team even suspected the engineer might not be inside the house. However, mobile location data showed that his phone was still on the premises, confirming their suspicion that he was avoiding the raid.The sleuths were reportedly preparing to call a locksmith to force their entry when they contacted his relatives for help. His sister soon arrived at the spot and persuaded Sathyanarayana over the phone to cooperate. After hours of tension, Sathyanarayana finally opened the door, allowing the search to begin.During the raid, Lokayukta officials reportedly unearthed immovable assets worth about Rs 5.9 crore, including houses, sites and agricultural land. They also found gold, silver and vehicles valued at around Rs 1.4 crore.Preliminary estimates suggest the assets could amount to Rs 6.8 crore in disproportionate wealth, which is over 200% higher than his known sources of income, officials said, adding that verification of documents and seized materials is still underway.Raids were also conducted at 42 other locations linked to eight additional officials. The disproportionate assets cases included Rs 3.4 crore, linked to Shashidhar R, CEO, Singanayakanahalli Raita Seva Sahakara Sangha, Yelahanka; Rs 1.8 crore related to Dr HC Indresh, associate professor, Veterinary College, Hebbal and Rs 4.4 crore linked to Vasanth Valappa Naik, chief engineer, K-Ship, PWD, Bengaluru.