Karnataka Police probe fake letter case involving Guv and Chief Secy

Bengaluru, Aug 8 (IANS) The Karnataka Police have begun an investigation in the fake letter issue involving Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and Chief Secretary, said officials on Tuesday.

The letter purportedly written by Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma accusing Minister for Agriculture N. Cheluvarayaswamy of being corrupt was widely circulated. The opposition BJP and JD(S) had slammed the ruling Congress over the issue. However, the case had taken a new twist with the lodging of a police complaint in this regard.

Following the development the ruling Congress had attacked opposition BJP and JD(S) suspecting their roles in circulation of the bogus letters to bring "disrepute" to the government.

Joint Director of Agriculture Department of Mandya district V.S. Ashok had lodged the complaint with the Superintendent of Police and demanded a probe into the circulation of the fake letter.

The Congress MLAs Ramesh Babu Bandisidde Gowda, Ravikumar Gowda, MLCs Madhu G. Made Gowda, Dinesh Gooligowda have also lodged a police complaint in this regard.

In their complaint, it is stated that the letter alleging that the Minister for Agriculture was placing demands for money through assistant directors in the department had gone viral.

Joint Director Ashok has stated in complaint that he had inquired with assistant directors and it was clarified that they have not submitted any complaint to the Governor. The assistant directors claimed that there was no harassment and with ulterior motives the entire episode was planned and executed.

The complainant had urged the police department to find out the persons who are bringing disrepute to the department by carrying out propaganda. The complaint maintains that the signatures of seven assistant directors of the Agriculture department have been forged. This is a well planned conspiracy to blackmail the representatives.

The police department has begun an investigation in this regard. Additional SP Thimmaiah visited the office of Agriculture department in Mandya and gathered preliminary information.

The news of a group of officers from the department of Agriculture giving a complaint to the Governor against Minister Cheluvarayaswamy was widely circulated.

The letter alleged that the minister was demanding Rs 6 to Rs 8 lakh bribe from them through senior officers and urged that this should be stopped. The letter also claimed that if their problem was not resolved, they would consume poison and die along with their family members.

Karnataka unit of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state vice-president Mohan Dasari has demanded that minister Cheluvarayaswamy be immediately sacked from the cabinet.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has clarified that the entire episode of officers giving complaints to the Governor and the Governor writing to the Chief Secretary on corruption of Minister Cheluvarayaswamy was fake. The letters released in this regard are also found to be fake. Even though the letters are found to be fake, the government will conduct an investigation into the matter.

He had charged BJP that, launching attacks on Congress government on the basis of fake letters, aroused suspicions that they had created them. “Have you created that or is it the work of your brother?” Siddaramaiah questioned indirectly referring to former CM H.D. Kumarswamy.

This comes after the incident of a bus conductor attached to a state owned bus corporation consuming poison after charging that minister Cheluvarayaswamy had targeted him and got him transferred over political rivalry.

It was alleged that the conductor had worked for JD (S) in the Assembly elections. It had become a controversy recently and the matter had led to heated debate in the Assembly budget session between former CM & JD(S) leader H.D. Kumarswamy and CM Siddaramaiah & Minister Cheluvarayaswamy.

Earlier, Cheluvarayaswamy was with the JD(S) and a close confidante of H.D. Kumaraswamy and former PM H.D. Deve Gowda family. He joined Congress with a group of prominent leaders, including Minister for Housing B. Z. Zameer Ahmad Khan and gave a strong blow to JD(S). The leaders have alleged the family politics and anarchy in JD(S) for their quitting the party.