Karnataka’s land scandals are getting to be like old boys’ clubs — everyone knows everyone — but at the centre of the most prominent one is former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa.
On a day the Karnataka governor accepted the resignation of Lokayukta justice Shivraj Patil over a land scandal, the Lokayukta’s police wing raided the offices of a company — run by Yeddyurappa’s family — accused of taking bribes on the former BJP chief minister’s behalf and illegally occupying land in a housing society that gave a plot of land to justice Patil’s wife.
In August, the Yeddyurappa family company, Davalgiri Property Developers Pvt Ltd, was accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 13 crore from an infrastructure company in return for an irrigation contract worth more than Rs 1,000 crore.
Ordered by a special Lokayukta judge, the police wing of the anti-corruption institution registered cases of corruption against Yeddyurappa.
The Lokayukta police raided four offices of Davalgiri Property across Bangalore on Tuesday.
In July, Davalgiri Property was named in former Lokayukta justice Santosh Hegde’s report on illegal mining for receiving Rs 20 crore — or 20 times the official value — from a mining company for the sale of a plot of land; the inference being the money was a bribe paid for mining concessions.
{{/usCountry}}In July, Davalgiri Property was named in former Lokayukta justice Santosh Hegde’s report on illegal mining for receiving Rs 20 crore — or 20 times the official value — from a mining company for the sale of a plot of land; the inference being the money was a bribe paid for mining concessions.
{{/usCountry}}Davalgiri Property is owned by Yedyyurappa’s sons, BJP member of Parliament BY Raghavendra and BY Vijendra, and son-in-law Sohan Kumar, all of whom now have cases of corruption registered against them. Yeddyurappa has sought bail in both cases related to the company.
The irrigation contract, worth Rs 1,033 crore, was allotted to a company called RNS Infrastructure, which is blacklisted in Himachal Pradesh and ineligible for government contracts in that state.
The Lokayukta has registered cases against Yeddyurappa relating to “criminal misconduct” by a public servant. If convicted, he could face one to seven years in prison, apart from a fine.