Karnataka Legislative Assembly secretary S Murthy suspended

BENGALURU: The secretary of Karnataka Legislative Assembly S Murthy, has been suspended on charges of irregularities during the 2017 Belagavi session, on Saturday.

MK Vishalakshi, Director of the Legislative Council, will now hold the additional charge as secretary until further directions, according to a notice issued by the Assembly secretariat. Murthy was under the scanner after Assembly speaker, Ramesh Kumar, had ordered a probe into alleged irregularities in procuring services during the 2017 Belagavi session.

The departmental enquiry had found Murthy guilty, following which his powers were curtailed during the recent session at Belagavi.

He had also approached the court against the speaker with regard to the issue. While `20 crore was allotted for Assembly proceedings in 2017, he was accused of sanctioning works worth `8.6 lakh by not inviting tenders. Murthy has been involved in controversies in the past. In November this year, Lokayukta had ordered a police probe against him for floating a company in his wife’s name without informing the secretariat.