Bengaluru, April 5 (IANS) Retired judge John Michael D’Cunha, who is appointed as the Commissioner of the Inquiry Commission to investigate the alleged irregularities and scams during the Covid-19 procurement period, submitted the second interim report to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday. The report comprises a total of 1,808 pages.
This is the second of a total of seven interim volumes, out of which four volumes pertain to the irregularities and scams that took place within the jurisdiction of the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike).
Separate volumes detail the irregularities related to BBMP’s Bommanahalli Zone, South Zone, West Zone, and Yelahanka Zone.
The remaining three volumes cover irregularities in Bengaluru Urban District, Bengaluru Rural District, and the districts of Gadag and Koppal.
The interim report was officially handed over to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Chief Secretary to the Government, Shalini Rajneesh, was also present on the occasion.
The Congress-led government in Karnataka, headed by Siddaramaiah, had also handed over the Covid ‘scam’ investigation to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on February 14, two months after lodging an FIR.
The team headed by CID SP Raghavendra Hegde and three Dy SPs are investigating the “scam” which allegedly occurred during the tenure of the previous BJP government.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Dy CM D.K. Shivakumar, Home Minister G. Parameshwara and other prominent leaders used the Covid “scam” as the shield against the allegations of the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and sensational tribal welfare board scam.
The FIR was lodged regarding the Covid scam in Vidhana Soudha police station on December 13, 2024 against senior officers and staffers.
The Congress government hinted at action against former CM B.S. Yediyurappa, former Health Minister B. Sriramulu and BJP MP K. Sudhakar.
The government had also formed a special cabinet sub-committee headed by Dy CM D.K. Shivakumar to look into the report by the Commission headed by the High Court Justice John Michael D’Cunha formed by the Congress government and give recommendations.
Shivakumar had announced that “Officials are conducting an investigation based on the recommendations of Justice Michael Cunha’s committee on Covid management-related irregularities. Those who embezzled Covid funds will not be spared.”
Referring to Covid testing irregularities, he had said, “In Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits, 84 lakh RT-PCR tests were reportedly conducted, with bills amounting to Rs 502 crore, out of which Rs 400 crore has been paid. If 84 lakh tests were conducted, it would mean two tests per household.”
–IANS
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