The incident has provided the Congress ammunition to intensify its attack on the BJP on the corruption front; the party fears similar fate for Lok Ayukta files.
The fire at the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) office in the BBMP head office complex on Saturday was an act of sabotage, said a police officer who was part of the investigating team. It was feared that the fire destroyed sensitive records related to the Rs1,539-crore bogus bill scam.
On Saturday, BMTF officials collected documents regarding the scam from Malleswaram. They also registered a case (number 4/11) after reaching the BMTF office. Later, the documents were handed over to BBMP commissioner Siddaiah.
However, the arsonists didn’t know that these documents were with the BBMP commissioner, hence, they targeted the BMTF office. The CCTV footage from the premises will be crosschecked to zero in on the culprits, who will be arrested by Monday, said the officer.
On Monday, a team of FSL and fire personnel will examine the spot to investigate where the fire originated. However, the incident has raised questions about the safety of sensitive records pertaining to various corruption cases against several senior BJP leaders under investigation by the Lokayukta police.
The fire has provided the Congress ammunition to intensify its attack on the BJP on the corruption front. KPCC president G Parameshwar, condemning the incident as a conspiracy devised by BJP leaders, expressed apprehensions on the safety of the files stored in the Lokayukta’s office. “What is the guarantee that those who set fire to files in the BMTF office will not do that at the Lokayukta office?” he asked.
Referring to the state government’s failure to appoint the Lokayukta, Parameshwar said: “The government is not interested in appointing an able Lokayukta.
At least, it should beef up security for the files stored in the Lokayukta’s office.”
Reiterating his demand for a CBI probe into the bogus bill scam,
he said the fire would not have broken out if the government had handed over the probe to the CBI instead of BMTF.
A group of former BBMP mayors—TR Ramesh, M Ramachandrappa and J Huchchappa—have decided to highlight the issue to the Centre to expose the culprits. The former mayors, who hail from Congress, said they would complain to the UPA government to take note of the incident and initiate action.
“Various developments works in several wards under Rajarajeshwarinagar, Malleswaram and Gandhinagar assembly constituencies were being implemented with assistance from the Centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Rural Mission programme. Hence, the Centre has a role in ensuring that the funds are not being misappropriated. We will submit a complaint to the Centre, demanding a CBI probe into the bills scam and the fire,” they said. The former mayors said that those involved in the `1,539-crore scam have perpetrated the act to escape punishment, but they would not succeed. “A CBI probe could bring out the truth and we will intensify our fight in this regard,” they said.
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