Commercial tax officer caught red handed by Lokayukta

[email protected] (CD Network,Photos by Savitha B R)

August 12, 2011

Mangalore, August 12: A Commercial Tax officer has been caught red handed by the Lokayukta police on charges of graft in the city on Wednesday.

Acting on a complaint by one Mohammed, who was being victimised by the tax officials, the Lokayukta raided the Assistant Commercial Tax Officer Beeranna Naik's residence at Karangalpady and caught him along with a an accountant Narasimha Rao and seized Rs 1.5 lakh.

Ore tenderer Mohammed had approached Naik for an H-form which provides sales tax exemption on export of commodities. Mr Naik and Rao had demanded a bribe of Rs 3 lakh from him. After negotiations, they had reduced the demand to Rs 1.5 lakh.

Meanwhile, Mohammed complained to Lokayukta and acting as per their guidance paid the bribe. The Lokayukta team led by DySP Sadananda Vernekar surrounded the accused, soon after they accepted the money.

The apprehended officer in a bid to escape threw the money on the roof top of a house. However, it was recovered by the Lokayukta officials.

Beeranna Naik would retire from service in 15 days.

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Why Mangaluru Could Become India’s Next Offshore Wind Energy Hub

News Network

February 3,2026

Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta has urged the Centre to give high priority to offshore wind energy generation along the Mangaluru coast, citing its strategic importance to India’s green energy and port-led development goals.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha under Rule 377, Chowta said studies by the National Institute of Oceanography have identified the Mangaluru coastline as part of India’s promising offshore wind ‘Zone-2’, covering nearly 6,490 sq km. He noted that the region’s relatively low exposure to cyclones and earthquakes makes it suitable for long-term offshore wind projects and called for its development as a dedicated offshore wind energy zone.

Highlighting the role of New Mangalore Port, Chowta said its modern infrastructure, multiple berths and heavy cargo-handling capacity position it well as a logistics hub for transporting and assembling large wind energy equipment.

He also pointed to the presence of major industrial units such as MRPL, OMPL, UPCL and the Mangaluru SEZ, which could serve as direct buyers of green power through power purchase agreements, improving project viability and speeding up execution.

With Karnataka’s peak power demand crossing 18,000 MW in early 2025, Chowta stressed the need to diversify renewable energy sources. He added that offshore wind projects in the Arabian Sea are strategically safer compared to the cyclone-prone Bay of Bengal.

Calling the project vital to India’s target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, Chowta urged the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to initiate resource assessments, pilot projects and stakeholder consultations at the earliest.

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