A week has passed since a typist working in Karnataka minister Puttaranga Shetty’s office was caught sneaking cash, amounting to nearly `26 lakh, out of Vidhana Soudha, the building that houses the state legislature and secretariat. But there is no clarity yet on where the money came from and where it was headed. The only significant development in the case is that the probe has been transferred from the state police to the anti-corruption bureau—both controlled by the government.

Corruption in a political administration is a given, and the seized sum is understood to be a paltry amount compared to the scale of corruption in the corridors of power. A senior leader of the Congress, the party which Shetty belongs to, even laughed at the demand for an investigation into the seizure and the minister’s resignation, hinting that the money involved was too small to warrant such drastic actions. What’s more worrying is the slow pace of the investigation.

Questions have to be raised about the way the case is being handled, and it almost looks like there is a deliberate attempt to delay or avoid action. Why else would it take so long to establish the source of money? The man was caught red-handed carrying cash and the investigators have had enough time since then to question him and get to the others involved. Strangely, the man was even allowed to go home after he was caught and he promptly went missing for a full day before appearing for questioning again.

It’s not difficult to deduce that the money was ill-gotten, and there’s no denying the involvement of people working in Vidhana Soudha. What is required is a fair, thorough and speedy probe to bring out the truth. Any attempt to mislead the investigation or hush up the case is not acceptable. If the minister is guilty, he must go, and also face the law. If it’s another political plot, people of the state need to know. In any case, the government must let the investigators do their job and allow the truth to come out.