Tainted senior Excise officer, Deputy Commissioner, Excise, Bengaluru (East) L.N. Mohan Kumar, is likely to be suspended. He was arrested after the Lokayukta police seized some bottles of Johnny Walker whiskey worth around Rs 1 lakh along with Rs 25,000 cash at his office on J.C. Road in a surprise raid on Thursday.
According to the Karnataka Civil Services Rules, any officer kept under detention for more than 48 hours is deemed to be suspended. “The suspension rules are clear, but I have to wait for the report from the Lokayukta police before I write to the government, which is the appointing authority of an officer of the rank of deputy commissioner to place the accused officer under suspension,” said Excise Commissioner Aravind Jannu.
He said that four months ago, the cadre management authority (CMA) had proposed the transfer of Mr Mohan Kumar, DC, West, M. Fasiuddin and DC, South, Mallikarjun Gaddi, but the orders were stayed. “The cadre management authority had taken cognisance of the fact that these officers were posted for nearly six years in the City,” said Mr. Jannu. Mr Mohan Kumar is the jurisdictional head of the Bengaluru’s central business district, including Ashokanagar, which has all the top-end clubs and bars. In 2011, the Lokayukta police had trapped Excise Inspector Govindaraju while accepting bribe. He had told the court that the bribe was meant to be handed over to his deputy commissioner.