K’taka BJP MLA booked after son caught taking ₹40L bribe

On Thursday, Lokayukta officials arrested Prashanth Madal who was caught taking a bribe in his father’s office.

In a major embarrassment to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka, the party’s Channagiri MLA Madal Virupakshappa has been named the main accused in a corruption case lodged by the Karnataka Lokayukta after his son was caught while taking bribe of ₹40 lakh.

Lokayukta police personnel during the raid, in Bengaluru. (PTI)

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 was to curb corruption in the state; without Lokayukta, many such cases were found and closed during Congress rule.”

On Thursday, Lokayukta officials arrested Prashanth Madal who was caught taking a bribe in his father’s office. In the raids that followed, they recovered ₹6.1 crore in cash from his Sanjaynagar residence and ₹2.2 crore from his office.

According to Karnataka Lokayukta BS Patil, a former Karnataka high court judge, the bribe was intended for the MLA who is also the chairman of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd (K&SDL). “He demanded ₹81 lakh bribe from a contractor for a deal for raw materials needed to manufacture soap and other detergents. On negotiation the amount was reduced,” Patil claimed.

Prashanth Madal, a Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) officer, is the chief accountant of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

Raids were also conducted at the residence and office of Madal Virupakshappa at KMV Mansion in Sanjaynagar in Bengaluru.

After he was named in the FIR, MLA Madal Virupakshappa resigned as the chairman of KSDL. He submitted his resignation to Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai on Friday. “This is purely a conspiracy against my family, and I do not have any connection with the money that Lokayukta seized. But taking moral responsibility for whatever happened, I submit my resignation as a chairman of KSDLm” he wrote in his resignation letter.

Justice (retd) Patil said he is unaware of the political developments surrounding the raid and ruled out questions about the timing of the raid -- ahead of state elections in summer. “All time is good time to fight corruption. As far as this institution (Lokayukta) is concerned, the questions of role and timing are immaterial.”

On Friday, a Lokayukta court in Bengaluru sent Prashanth Madal to 14 days judicial custody. Patil said that after the raid, Lokayukta officials checked the documents and also apprehended four who have also been sent to judicial custody.

The MLA was not present during the raid, and Lokayukta officials said he will be issued a notice to appear for questioning.

“Prashanth Madal allegedly demanded 40% commission for awarding a contract to supply raw material to the public sector company, but, after negotiations, settled for 30% . He was caught red-handed while taking ₹40 lakh, a portion of the bribe amount, on March 2,” said a Lokayukta official who asked not to be named.

Bommai said that “ an independent and fair investigation will be done”.

The incident is a major embarrassment to the government which has been trying to live down allegations of it being a “40% commission” administration . The Congress linked the bribe to the coming elections.

“ BJP has speeded up its corruption to collect funds for the upcoming election, and the Congress will appeal to the Election Commission to declare an election to the state soon to avoid corruption . We also appeal to contractors not to take any work by paying bribes as our next government will review all the contracts and tenders of the last six months,” said Leader of the Opposition and former CM Siddaramaiah.