Four Bal Bhavan employees use QR code to pocket ₹3.5 lakh

Next time you visit a tourist destination and are making a payment through a QR code, ensure that the receiver is the department concerned.

Karnataka Tourism State Development Corporation (KSTDC) recently learnt that four staff members at Bal Bhavan in Cubbon Park pocketed money meant for its account.

Between December 2022 and April 2024, a total of ₹3,50,964, which was supposed to go to the account of KSTDC, was diverted to the personal accounts of Abdul Wajid, Venkatesh K., Ramachandra K., and K. Kodandaramu.

Bal Bhavan is a children’s park in Cubbon Park. KSTDC maintains it. The four staff members were working at the Mayura Bal Bhavan kiosk. They allegedly used the QR codes to direct payments to their accounts instead of the official KSTDC account.  

According to sources, Wajid, who was working on a contract basis as a driver, allegedly diverted ₹2,66,215 to his account between December 2022 and April 2024.

Another contract worker, Ramachandra, a second division clerk, allegedly diverted ₹31,917 to his account.

Venkatesh and Kodandaramu, who were both permanent employees of KSTDC, allegedly diverted ₹48,642 and ₹3,920, respectively, to their accounts.

Answering a question in the Assembly on July 23, Tourism Minister H. K. Patil said, “While the two permanent employees have been suspended and face a departmental inquiry, the contracts of the other two workers have been terminated. I have also directed that an FIR be registered against the accused.”

In the last few years, many employees of various wings of the Tourism Department have complained about the absence of full-time directors and managing directors for the department and the KSTDC.

“KSTDC is a client-based corporation, which requires generating its resources. But for over two years, the corporation did not have a full-time managing director, which is bound to lead to such incidents. The department should now ensure that such aberrations are not occurring in other tourist destinations,” remarked a former senior official of KSTDC.