Karnataka Administrative Officer (KAS) officer K Mathai, known perhaps more famously as a whistleblower, is a rare breed of sincere and honest public servants. Mathai who joined KAS after taking voluntary retirement from the Indian Air Force (IAF) has created a record in the annals of the Karnataka Civil Service by filing a complaint with Lokayukta against four IAS officers E.V. Ramana Reddy, Ms (Dr) Kalpana Gopalan, Dr T K Anil Kumar and M. Lakshminarayana. In a brief interview, Mathai explains to Y Maheswara Reddy under what circumstances he was compelled to take this bold and rare initiative.
Do you think there are other KAS officers who are harassed by the IAS officers?
There are many KAS officers who have suffered and continue to suffer due to IAS officers. After my news appeared in the media, an assistant director of agriculture department approached me and told me that he had been harassed for the last 17 years and it continues six years after he retired from the service in a departmental enquiry. The irony is that he is targeted by the IAS lobby despite his son being an IAS officer.
What made you to come out against these four IAS officers?
I have been maintaining a track record. For example, I had to undergo lot of trouble and face problems when I was posted as a tahsildar of Hassan. My mistake was taking action against the sand mafia. They even made an attempt on my life by setting my official residential quarters ablaze at midnight in 2011. They sprinkled petrol before setting the quarters on fire. Petrol spread inside through a gap under the door. My shoes were burnt. Nothing happened to me.
What happened after that?
I was posted as Commissioner of Mandya Urban Development Authority (MUDA). Actually, my posting was to Hassan Urban Development Authority but due to the then incumbent being in prison, the government posted me as the Commissioner of MUDA. I submitted a report on the Rs 300 crore loss to the MUDA due to illegal allotment of 1,821 sites. My report was accepted by the state government and later it handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A charge-sheet was filed against 40 people including politicians. Later, I was posted as an Assistant Commissioner (Advertisement) of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
How was it at the BBMP?
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