A remote-operated main door in a palatial house at Kengunte in Mallathahalli, a fleet of high-end cars, valuables including 4.9 kg of gold, 15.2 kg of silver articles, 61.9 grams of diamonds, expensive watches and goggles — these were some of the discoveries that the raids by theAnti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on nine middlemen operating in the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) yielded on Tuesday.
The residential premises of Raghu B.N. of Chamarajpet; Mohan of Manorayanpalya, R.T. Nagar; Manoj of Domlur; Munirathna alias Rathnavelu of Kenagunte, Malathahalli; Tejaswi of R.R. Nagar; Aswath alias Muddinapalya Ashwat of K.G. Circle, Muddinapalya; Rama of Chamundeshwarinagar BDA Layout; Laxmana of Chamundeshwarinagar BDA layout; and Chikkahanummaiah of Muddinapalya are being searched.
Officials said one of the middlemen filed a complaint with the police accusing BDA officials of cheating, claiming to have paid huge sums of money to officials, including for the transfer of a senior officer.
Apart from seized valuables, the ACB officials also seized heaps of files pertaining to properties in and around Bengaluru.
High drama prevailed for some time when one of the accused broker Munirathna refused to handover keys of the SUV parked in front of his palatial house. The ACB contemplated getting a locksmith to open the car, but Munirathna finally handed over the keys.
“The search and verification of valuables will continue to ascertain the value of the property and their known source of income. Some of the middlemen, who were shopkeepers and real estate agents a decade ago, amassed wealth worth several crores which needs a detailed probe,” a senior officer said.
The ACB officials suspect that the accused had a close nexus with the BDA officials suspected to be involved in site and compensation scams, as well as preparing fake documents to claim compensations.
