Honest IAS Officer Transferred 27 Times For Exposing ₹300 Cr Scam, Files Human Rights Complaint

India is infamous for its corrupt bureaucracy. No wonder it was placed at the 78th spot out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index. Even whistleblowers and honest IAS officers who try to combat this menace often undergo hardships and turmoil at the hands of their colleagues and superiors.

K Mathai, Administrative Officer, Sakala Mission, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) is one such person. But he has decided to fight back by filing a complaint against the Chief Secretary and nine other IAS officers with the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC).

Bangalore Mirror quoted him saying,

“I have suffered mental agony because of my fight against corruption. I consider a letter written by the then Minister for Housing Dr M H Ambareesh (dated 24-5-2014) as the source for my frequent transfers and problems. The government transferred me 27 times in 10 years.”

In his complaint, he appealed to the Rights Commission saying,

“I request your good offices to register a complaint against Principal Secretary, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) Services, Govt of Karnataka and to grant justice and proper compensation for the mental agony I was made to undergo.’’

Why is he being targeted?

According to The News Minute, he was instrumental in uncovering an Rs. 300 crore scam due to illegal allotment of land while he was working in Mandya Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

“I had served as the tehsildar of Yadgiri taluk and after four months, I was transferred to MUDA. DPAR had granted permission to conduct an inquiry against me for corruption when the person accused was the tehsildar who served before me. All this was done as I did not have political patronage.”

Furthermore, he hasn’t been promoted since the year 2012 because he reported another Rs. 2,000 crore scam in the BBMP. Former BBMP Commissioner, Lakshminarayana, questioned his reliability to the Chief Secretary.

“This is vindictive action. I was charged on false grounds by DPAR Services alleging that I had gone on leave without prior permission, while I have documents to prove that I had (permission). I was transferred to serve as Special Land Acquisition Officer in Hoovinahadagali but the Mandya DC did not let me go stating election code and now they have withheld my pay.”

Earlier, he had sent a written request for a meeting with Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy to discuss his situation but the Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary of DPAR did not grant him an appointment.

We sincerely hope that the Human Rights Commission adequately punishes the violators in this case so that no other honest officer has to go through such a difficult situation again.

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