Surprise raids by Ktaka Lokayukta

The checks were conducted at sub-registrar offices at Hoskote,Doddaballapur,Jigani,Devanahalli,Anekal and Nelamangala.

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Karnatakas new anti-corruption ombudsman Justice Shivaraj Patil identified systemic corruption as his primary target as opposed to individual corruption here on Tuesday following the first set of raids carried out by the state Lokayukta police since he took over as the Lokayukta on August 3.

The Lokayukta police carried out surprise raids on six different offices of the sub-registrar of properties in Bangalore on Monday evening as part of an effort to check systemic corruption in these offices during the course of high value transactions involving the registration of the sale and purchase of properties,Justice Patil said. The checks were conducted at sub-registrar offices at Hoskote,Doddaballapur,Jigani,Devanahalli,Anekal and Nelamangala.

Corruption in the system needs to be removed not just at the individual level, Justice Patil said while announcing the police action. This would be the underlying theme of his tenure,he said. We will not ignore individual corruption but we will look at systemic corruption closely. We will try to bring a change in the system, said the former Supreme Court judge. If system is tackled individual corruption can be tackled, he added.

Justice Patil said he would recommend to the government to facilitate online registration of properties to prevent corruption at the sub-registrar office level as well as the installation of closed circuit television at government offices as efforts to regulate corruption.

The new Lokayukta,whose immediate tasks include taking a decision on the Governors approval of a recommendation made by his predecessor Justice Santosh Hegde for the criminal prosecution of former CM B S Yeddyurappa,said on Tuesday that a decision on the prosecution can be expected soon.

Justice Patil said he was examining the report of the Lokayukta on illegal mining,its implications in the context of petitions filed by Yeddyurappa before him and other issues in an integrated manner to arrive at a decision. He indicated that the Lokayukta does not have to provide a hearing to people accused of corruption in the event of there being clear evidence of corruption.