• Even after complaint to DDPI & Mysuru DC, shoddy investigation yields no result
• Lokayukta takes up complaint, investigates and exposes the impersonation

Hunsur: A man, who secured a teacher’s job about two decades ago allegedly by using his dead brother’s qualification certificates, has been arrested by the Periyapatna Police.

Shockingly, the accused and his family managed to conceal his identity very well and he could serve as a teacher in a Government school for 24 years undetected. The accused is Lakshmanegowda, serving as a teacher at Kattemalalavadi Higher Primary School near Hunsur. He is a native of Hebbal village near K.R. Nagar and his family resides there.

24 years ago, his elder brother Lokesh Gowda was selected for the Government job and he was asked to report as a teacher at a school in 1994-1995. He even received the Government order to this effect.

But as fate willed, Lokesh Gowda died before he could take up the job. Utilising this opportunity to secure a permanent Government job, Lakshmanegowda took the Government letter and identified himself as Lokesh Gowda and reported for work at Muddanahalli School in Periyapatna taluk.

Award winning teacher

Lakshmanegowda successfully camouflaged his identity for years. He even managed to win a teacher’s award.

Journalist exposes fraud

Lakshmanegowda served at many Government schools with impersonated identity and his fraud failed to come to the notice of any authority in the Education Department.

However, in 2019, after he came to Kattemalalavadi, Intec Raju, a journalist from Hunsur, got a whiff of the illegal act and filed a complaint with the Deputy Director of Public Instructions (DDPI), Mysuru. Acting on the complaint, the DDPI urged the K.R. Nagar Taluk Tahsildar to check the veracity of the complaint and also check the family tree of Lakshmanegowda.

After investigation, the Tahsildar wrote back to the DDPI that Lakshmanegowda’s family was not obliging and they were not ready to divulge details.

Issue reaches DC

Later, Raju pursued the case with the Mysuru Deputy Commissioner (DC) and in 2020, the DC ordered the DDPI and the Block Education Officer (BEO) to book a Police complaint if the allegations were found to be true.

Lokayukta contacted

But even after six months, the BEO failed to lodge a Police complaint and as such, Raju complained to the Lokayukta.

The Lokayukta Police and officers summoned both Raju and Lakshmanegowda and began investigation. A probe was even conducted at the recruitment level and it was found that Lakshmanegowda had indeed impersonated his brother Lokesh Gowda to secure the Government job.

Even the family tree produced by the accused was altered and as such, the family tree was declared null and void. A Police complaint was lodged at the Periyapatna Police Station by BEO S.P. Nagaraju and the accused Lakshmanegowda has been arrested now and has been sent to judicial custody.