Karnataka government may order CBI probe into Rs 10 crore embezzlement case

BANGALORE: Karnataka government may order a CBI probe into the alleged embezzlement of about Rs 10 crore of Ramanagara-Channapatna Urban Development Authority.

"We are considering to hand over the probe to CBI," Urban Development Minister Vinaya Kumar Sorake said in the Legislative Assembly.

Leader of Opposition H D Kumaraswamy, who raised the issue, said the Authority had kept funds of Rs 9.5 crore in a public sector bank and Rs 40 lakh in a private bank but transferred the amount to another public sector bank which offered a better interest rate but now says it has no such deposits.

Since the alleged embezzlement is to the tune of more than Rs two crore, a probe into it should be handed over to the CBI as per RBI norms, the JDS leader argued.

As the issue involved different banks, Sorake said the government was considering a CBI probe.

The government yesterday announced a probe by CID into alleged misappropriation of Rs five crore of Mandya Urban Development Authority.

Sorake said MUDA Commissioner H S Shivaram has been arrested in connection with the case.