Bengaluru, Sept. 11 -- Deputy Lokayukta-1 K.N. Phanindra has ordered the registration of a suo motu case over allegations that poor-quality shoes supplied free of cost to government schoolchildren under the state's shoe-and-socks scheme were damaged within days of distribution.

The development comes after media reports highlighted complaints from students and parents that the shoes distributed under the government scheme had torn within a week or that the stitching had come apart. The issue had also triggered criticism from opposition parties, with Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka accusing the government of failing to ensure quality in the procurement and supply of footwear to students.

Ashoka had alleged that poor-quality materials were ...