Government orders probe into Rs 80-crore land scam involving KG Thornahalli property

The Karnataka government has established a high-level inquiry panel of senior revenue officials to investigate an alleged Rs 80-crore land scam involving the illegal takeover of government land in KG Thornahalli village in Malur taluk. The investigation was launched after former Malur MLA KS Manjunatha Gowda flagged the suspected forgery of revenue records concerning over 16 acres of land, which was subsequently sold to a Bengaluru resident.

Rajendra Kumar Kataria, IAS, the Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue Department, constituted the four-member committee to collect all original documents and verify them against the records alleged to be forged.

According to the allegations raised by Gowda, the disputed land was originally recorded as government property in official records as early as 1961. However, subsequent documents were reportedly fabricated to show that the land had been granted to a group of farmers on January 14, 1963. The property was later sold to a resident of Bengaluru.

Gowda submitted detailed documentation of the original records to Malur tahsildar Roopa. He highlighted that no official records exist for the land between 1963 and 2024.

The discrepancy reportedly came to light only in 2024, when an application was made for a certified copy of the documents. At the time, a shirastedar overseeing the land records section raised suspicions regarding the validity of the paperwork.

Gowda alleged that the tahsildar failed to cross-check the documents despite the doubts expressed by lower-rank officials, proceeding instead to clear the files and issue a khata.

The newly formed high-level committee will now gather all relevant details and submit a comprehensive report to the Revenue Department.

Kataria stated that the allegations of creating fake documents to facilitate land encroachment and submitting them to the court are serious. He confirmed that the committee will secure all relevant records and subject them to forensic science laboratory testing to determine their authenticity.