Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy leveled explosive corruption allegations against the Karnataka state administration, accusing Hassan Deputy Commissioner Latha Kumari of paying a ₹75 lakh bribe to District In-charge Minister KM Shivalingegowda to avert an impending transfer.
Both the bureaucrat and the minister faced direct fire. Addressing reporters outside the historic Hasanamba temple in Hassan, Kumaraswamy brandished what he described as written transcripts of WhatsApp exchanges between an unidentified person and Kumari’s personal assistant, Shashikiran. The messages, he argued, expose an entrenched cash-for-favors syndicate operating out of the Hassan collectorate.
Kumaraswamy claimed the Deputy Commissioner’s establishment routinely extorted money from stone crusher operators and residential layout developers seeking regulatory approvals. Brokers and middlemen allegedly processed the transactions, channeling kickbacks directly to clearing authorities before land conversion files moved. He alleged that Shashikiran collected the illicit funds through intermediaries and transferred the proceeds upward—culminating in a ₹75 lakh payout to Shivalingegowda to keep Kumari firmly in her posting.
Kumari fired back immediately. She dismissed the dossiers as manufactured fabrications engineered to malign her administrative office.
"Spreading such fake news is an unforgivable crime," Kumari said. "Spreading false information to defame someone, weaken them, target them, or put them down is something we have never done, will not do in the future, nor have we done in the past, and we are not doing it now. We are giving a complaint to the police and bringing out the truth."
Kumari pledged zero tolerance if internal staff acted out of line, affirming that if her personal assistant or his clerical section dispatched unauthorized communications, they would face severe disciplinary action. She warned that individuals circulating forged documents to defame district administrators would be decisively tracked down and prosecuted.
Police officials in Hassan are set to register and review Kumari's formal complaint, paving the way for digital forensics teams to trace the origin and authenticity of the disputed message transcripts.