Karnataka BJP MLA’s son caught taking ₹40 lakh bribe; sent to 14-day custody

Amid the bribery row, the anti-corruption wing of Lokayukta raided the residence of Prashanth and seized ₹6.10 crore cash while ₹2.2 crore cash was also recovered from his office

The Lokayukta court in Bengaluru has sent Prashanth Madal, son of Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Madal Virupakshappa, to 14 days of judicial custody after he was allegedly caught taking a bribe.

Anti-corruption wing of Lokayukta raided the residence of Prashanth and seized ₹6.10 crore cash (Twitter Photo)

Karnataka Lokayukta B S Patil said that on Thursday Lokayukta officials arrested Prashanth after he was allegedly caught taking a bribe of ₹40 lakh in his father’s office. Prashanth is the chief accountant of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board. Officials said that Prashanth, who also is a Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) officer, was caught red-handed while allegedly accepting the bribe from a contractor for a project.

Amid the bribery row, the anti-corruption wing of Lokayukta raided the residence of Prashanth and seized ₹6.10 crore cash while ₹2.2 crore cash was also recovered from his office, officials said.

Patil said that after the raid, Lokayukta officials checked the documents and also apprehended four others including Siddesh, a relative of Prashanth, Surendra, his accountant, Nicholas and Gangadhar, who allegedly paid the bribes.

According to a Lokayukta police official, Prashanth’s father is also the chairman of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd (K&SDL), and the bribe amount was intended for him.

“Prashanth had allegedly demanded a 40% commission for awarding a contract to supply raw material to the public sector company, but, after negotiations, settled for a 30% commission. He was caught red-handed while taking ₹40 lakh, a portion of the bribe amount, on March 2,” said a Lokayukta official.

The raids were also conducted at the residence and office of Madal Virupakshappa at KMV Mansion in Sanjaynagar in Bengaluru. The authorities have seized documents and other evidence from the residence.

Speaking on the controversy, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said that Lokayukta will come out with the truth. “Lokayukta has raided the son of an MLA. All I can say is that the reason for restarting the Lokayukta is to curb corruption in the state, without Lokayukta, many such cases were found and closed during Congress rule,” he said.

“I have said earlier also that an independent and fair investigation will be done. That’s why our aim is to punish the culprits. Lokayukta has all the details, whose money was it, where did it come from, everything should come out,” he added.

The development is seen as a serious setback to the ruling BJP as the incident has come to light at a time when the opposition is launching attacks of “40% commission” and kickbacks in government tenders. Congress has stated that the raids proved their allegations of corruption and commission charges.

The opposition has accused CM Bommai’s administration of instituting a common rate of kickbacks and dubbed it the “40%” government.

“The loot of #40PercentSarkara continues unabated... caught red-handed taking ₹40 lakh bribe, Now ₹crore recovered from BJP MLA’s son’s house. Father chairman, son takes money! Cozy Corrupt nexus of BJP!” Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala wrote on Twitter.