Karnataka Ex-Bureaucrat with ₹15,000 Salary Found Owning ₹30 Crore in Assets

Rapid Summary

• Suspect: kalakappa Nidagundi, a former outsourced clerk at Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL), allegedly amassed assets worth Rs 30 crore over two decades despite a monthly salary of Rs 15,000.
• Lokayukta Raid: Officials raided Nidagundi’s residence in Pragati Nagar following complaints of suspected misappropriation of Rs 72 crore in KRIDL.
• Assets Found: The raid uncovered 24 houses, six plots, over 40 acres of agricultural land, more than 1 kg of gold jewelry, several vehicles, and documents indicating additional illegal assets. Some properties were registered under family members’ names.
• Fraudulent Projects: Officials claim fake invoices and documents were created for 96 projects between 2019-2025 involving sewerage, roads, and drinking water works across Koppal district.These projects diverted government grants totaling Rs 72 crore.
• Disciplinary Action: Nidagundi was dismissed months before the raid; another accused official remains in service due to court intervention.
• Political Statement: Koppal MLA K Raghavendra Hitnal confirmed collusion involving multiple individuals and assured thorough examination and action against those guilty.

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indian Opinion Analysis

The discovery of notable unexplained assets raises critical concerns about institutional accountability within Karnataka’s public management systems. While the Lokayukta’s action demonstrates vigilance against corruption at lower bureaucratic levels like clerks or engineers managing local infrastructure funds (KRIDL), the scale-Rs 72 crores siphoned through fake projects-underscores systemic weaknesses allowing such activities to thrive undetected for years.

Proper implementation of preventive mechanisms like audits or digital tracking could potentially curtail similar instances in future allocations meant for rural development work across India. Importantly, cases like this can erode public trust unless investigations expand beyond individual scapegoats to fully understand enabling networks or flaws across administrative hierarchies responsible too for long visible yet unchecked misappropriation!