Karnataka government ordered to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the alleged mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic by the previous BJP government in the state.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru on Thursday, Karnataka Law Minister HK Patil said that the SIT will be led by an officer of the rank of Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Minister Patil hit out at the BJP and alleged that the previous government “behaved inhumanely.”
He said that the people of Karnataka faced the “biggest disaster” with the BJP “mismanaging” the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
“We (the people of Karnataka) faced the biggest disaster, the (BJP-led) government, behaved very inhumanely when they needed to save the people. Previous govt was indulging in cheating people, corruption, documents were missing, misleading accounts, didn’t allow PSI committee to work, they barred committees meet too,” Minister Patil said.
He further alleged that the BJP-led government purchased Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at an inflated rate, and purchased expired medicines.
“They tried all possible ways to hide their corruption, from PPE kit which was available Rs 334, they purchased for Rs 2117, purchased outdated medicines,” the minister said.
“They purchased from blacklisted companies and they also mislead saying all of its donated, then paid them. All this information has came out,” he added.
The minister further highlighted the formation of a committee to investigate the irregularities in the procurement of PPE kits.
“Complaints also wrote to human rights commision, lokayuktha, so in this background a committee was formed in the chairmanship of justice Michael D Cunnah, around 50 thousand documents, files observed by the committee and submitted an interim report. The report pointed out that there was huge corruption during COVID. Some information was also shared in cabinet sub committee,” he said.
“Main issue which came out was huge corruption in covid management, Inhuman things came out. They made the administration collapse on the direction of some politicians by the officials, these are shocking subjects and facts,” he said.
The Justice John Michael D’Cunha Commission report recommended prosecution of former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and former Minister for Health and Family Welfare B Sriramulu over the purchase of 3 lakh PPE kits from Chinese firms, the minister said.
Minister Patil said that FIRs would be filed against those accused of covid pandemic mismanagement, corruption.