Bengaluru: Incidents of Lokayukta raids have occurred throughout the state, with notable attention on Ajith Kumar Rai, the Tahasildar of K. R. Puram in Bengaluru. A substantial amount of illegal assets, including crores of rupees, kilograms of jewellery, expensive foreign liquor, luxury items such as watches, an luxury car, 40 lakhs in cash, and various documents were discovered at Ajith’s residence, as well as his relatives’ and brother’s houses. The Lokayukta authorities conducted raids in multiple locations, seizing important documents. Now, the question arises, who is Ajit Kumar Rai, and what is his background? Where is he from, and how did he accumulate illegal property? Here is complete information on the acquisition of benami property.
Ajit Kumar Rai, a billionaire, originally hails from Sorake in the Puttur Taluk of Dakshina Kannada District. His father, Anand Rai, worked as a Government surveyor but passed away at the age of 51. Following his father’s death, Ajith Rai secured a government job under compassionate grounds. He was appointed as a Revenue Inspector at a young age and later promoted to the position of sub-tahsildar in Bangalore. One of his brothers also resides in Bangalore, while his mother lives in Sorake, Puttur. Ajith Rai primarily served outside Dakshina Kannada District in his Government assignments.
Consequently, he has amassed several crores worth of assets outside of DK district, including in Bangalore. Lokayukta officials also raided a house in Puttur.
The Government suspended Ajith Kumar Rai, the Former Tahsildar of Bangalore East Taluk (K. R
Puram) in November 2022 due to his non-cooperation in the BBMP’s illegal encroachment clearance operation. While BBMP was carrying out evictions in Mahadevpur, legal complications arose. In this case, Tahsildar S. Ajith Kumar Rai allegedly assisted the squatters in evading legal eviction.
His actions led to continuous disputes regarding encroachment evictions, and he also helped the occupiers obtain a stay order from the courts. However, Ajit Rai, who challenged the suspension order in KAT (Karnataka Administrative Tribunal) and had the stay vacated, was subsequently reappointed as the Tahsildar of Bangalore East Taluk (K. R. Puram).
Lokayukta SP Ashok informed about the raid on Tahsildar Ajith Rai’s house, accusing him of amassing assets beyond his income. In light of these allegations, an FIR has been filed with the Lokayukta. As a result, 12 sites related to Ajith Rai have been raided, including inspections at his cooperative house. So far, 40 Lakh in cash, 2 Lakh in cash, and 700 grams of gold ornaments have been discovered in the cooperative city house. The process of documenting the seized items is currently underway, and detailed information regarding money, gold ornaments, liquor, and cars will be provided in the evening.
The raid also took place at Ajith Rai’s luxury apartment in Sahakar Nagar. His residence is located in the Fortune Center Apartment near ITC Park on the International Airport Road. The apartment comprises three plots, with one plot estimated to be worth approximately three crores. Ajitj Rai occupies the first floor of the apartment and has invested crores in its interior decoration.
Liquor bottles were discovered in Ajith Rai’s house in Sahakar Nagar during the raid. The bottles contained foreign liquors, with each bottle valued between 5,000 and 50,000 rupees, and some even worth one lakh rupee.
Ajith Rai’s house was raided at 4:30 am by a team led by Lokayukta DySP Pramod, consisting of four cars. Over 15 officers conducted the raid on Ajith Rai before he could go for a walk. Bikes and cars in the parking lot of Ajith’s house were thoroughly checked. An Aisharami car and a jeep were also found.
Additionally, raids were conducted at his mother’s house in Keyuru, Mangalore, the Ilattore house in Devanahalli, a house associated with Ajith in Doddaballapur, and the Chandralayout house.
The house of Gaurav Shetty, who is closely associated with Tahasildar Ajith Rai, was also raided. Gaurav Shetty of Basaveshwar Nagar had his house raided, and a benami property was discovered. Furthermore, Ajith Rai’s relatives and family members were subjected to raids in various areas within their close circle.