The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and Income Tax (IT) Department will join the probe into the alleged benami assets of former K. R. Puram tahsildar S. Ajith Kumar Rai, who is in the custody of Lokayukta police after being arrested in connection with a Disproportionate Assets (DA) case, sources said.
Given the DA discovered during the search by the Lokayukta and allegations of benami properties, the I-T Department will launch a probe soon, sources said. The I-T Department is the competent authority for enforcement of The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016.
The ED has already launched a preliminary probe into the alleged benami properties and allegations of money laundering against Mr. Rai, and will soon register an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), sources in the ED said.
On June 27, Lokayukta police searched the premises of Mr. Rai and 14 other officials across departments and across Karnataka.
Lokayukta Police singled out Mr. Rai, as they found a large tranche of documents of benami properties on his premises. Sources said police discovered documents pertaining to over 100 acres of prime agricultural land in Doddaballapur and Devanahalli, documents related to several other properties and luxury cars. A senior Lokayukta police official said that transactions related to property documents, found during the raids, were ‘extremely complex’ and they need more time to ascertain the real owner of these properties.
Mr. Rai had been suspended in November 2022 for allegedly colluding with encroachers of Storm Water Drains (SWD) near Rainbow Layout in Hebbagodi, that was flooded due to encroachment. He was demoted and was facing a Departmental Enquiry (DE).
Former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H. D. Kumaraswamy recently accused ‘Mr. Rai of paying ₹3 crore for a posting, in the previous regime’.
