‘My anti-graft plaints were trashed, I had to do something drastic’

Bengaluru: Stripped to his underwear and pushed into a corner at the Vidhana Soudha police station on Wednesday afternoon, 33-year-old Tejraj Sharma continued to mutter: “I was wronged. I am angry.”
Every time a policeman walked up to him and asked what drove him to attack Lokayukta Justice P Vishwanath Shetty in his chambers with a knife, a fidgety Sharma simply replied that he was expressing his anger against the system that had failed him.

Hours after he was picked up for the murderous attack on Justice Shetty, Sharma confessed that he had arrived at the Lokayukta office armed and with the intention of doing something that would send shivers down the spine of the bureaucracy.

Hailing from Jaipur, Rajasthan, Sharma had shifted to Tiptur in Tumakuru district along with his parents and two brothers in 2005. The family had opened a fancy store selling bangles and cosmetics. Following his father’s death in 2009, Sharma and his family members moved to Tumakuru’s S S Puram area where they opened another store.

Sources in the police said: “Meanwhile, the brothers developed differences and Sharma shifted out in 2012 and lived separately. The brothers alleged that he had temperamental issues and would frequently engage in fights. Subsequently, Sharma got into the furniture business.”

Sharma liaised with several government officials in Tumakuru, Kolar and Bengaluru Rural districts and spent money on them hoping that they would help him bag contracts to supply furniture to government schools and other departments. “He would monitor all tender-related advertisements floated by different departments and would bid for them. But his frustration levels began increasing when he failed to get contracts despite bribing government officials who were in a position to influence decisions,” sources said.

The feeling of having been cheated haunted Sharma, police said, quoting his acquaintances. Sharma sought details about a few officials using RTI Act and began lodging complaints against them with various authorities. Subsequently, he began knocking on the doors of Lokayukta seeking action.

He lodged his first complaint on March 27, 2017 against revenue department officials and a second later on May 5 against two officials from the education department. “Overall he is said to have filed complaints against 18 officials from eight different departments,” sources said. “But almost all the cases were closed by Lokayukta officials citing lack of evidence. He was mocked at by the officials against whom he was fighting. He had bought a knife a month ago. Four days ago the Lokayukta closed the last four complaints filed by Sharma.”

On Wednesday morning, Sharma reached the office and met Lalithamma, the assistant registrar (enquiries), and sought to know why all his complaints were being closed. When she replied that he had not furnished documents to substantiate his allegations, an angry Sharma stormed out, saying that he will meet Justice Shetty and sort out the matter.

“I have lodged complaints against corruption, but no action seems to have been taken,” police quoted Sharma as saying. “No one is paying attention to what I have been saying. I have met the Lokayukta thrice in this connection but it has been of no use. There has not been any positive response to a single complaint. I was very angry.”

Justice Shetty stayed back beyond his usual lunch time

Lokayukta Justice P Vishwanath Shetty, in normal course, would have left home for lunch at around 1pm. On Wednesday though, he stayed back a little longer as he was keen on meeting all his visitors.

According to the office of the Lokayukta, around 12 complainants had met Justice Shetty before the incident. At around 1pm, he asked his staff is there were more visitors to see him. “When we said there were a few people, he said he will talk to them and then head for lunch,” a staff said. “We wish he had left the chamber at his usual time. He would have escaped the attack.”

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