Son caught taking bribe: Karnataka MLA steps down from post, claims conspiracy

Lokayukta sleuths recovered unaccounted cash of more than Rs six crore from the house of BJP MLA K Madal Virupakshappa’s son Prashanth, close on the heels of his arrest after allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 40 lakh.

Following the Lokayukta action against his son, the BJP MLA tendered his resignation as KSDL Chairman, even as he claimed that the raid by the anti-graft agency was a conspiracy against him and his family.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai promised an impartial probe into the matter.

Prashanth, the chief accountant of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, was caught red-handed on Thursday evening while accepting the bribe from a contractor at the Karnataka Soap and Detergents Limited (KSDL) office.

Within hours of the trap, a team of Lokayukta officials raided his house and recovered the unaccounted cash.

Virupakshappa, MLA from Channagiri constituency in Davanagere district, is the chairman of KSDL and Prashanth was allegedly receiving "first installment" of the bribe on behalf of his father, according to Lokayukta sources.

Virupakshappa on Friday tendered his resignation from the post.

In his resignation letter sent to the chief minister, he said there is no "relation" between him and the Lokayukta raid, which he termed as a conspiracy against him and his family.

"Despite that since an allegation has been levelled against me, I am taking moral responsibility and submitting my resignation from the post of KSDL Chairman". he said.

Karnataka Lokayukta Justice (Retd) B S Patil said on Friday Rs 2.02 crore was recovered from the KSDL office and Rs 6.1 crore from Prashanth's house.

"Five persons (including Prashanth) have been apprehended and they have been taken into custody", he said. FIR has been registered.

Meanwhile, Bommai promised an impartial inquiry and said those who have committed any wrongdoing must be punished. "This is the stand of the government".

He pointed out the incumbent government re-established the Lokayukta to check corruption.

"In the absence of the anti-corruption institution so many incidents had taken place during the Congress regime and were also hushed up", the Chief Minister said.

"Congress ministers and MLAs had 59 charges (against them) but it was hushed up as there was (only) ACB (Anti-Corruption Bureau). Once that is enquired by the Lokayukta, truth will come out", he said.

The action against Prshanth was proof that the Lokayukta has been revived to contain corruption unlike the previous Congress regime which created a separate ACB apart from the Lokayukta to "cover up their wrong deeds," Bommai said.

Due to the lack of a strong Lokayukta in the past, many corruption cases during the Congress regime could never get investigated, Bommai told reporters in Bengaluru.

"We have been repeatedly saying we will conduct impartial probe. Our stand in this case as well is that the independent Lokayukta institution will carry out impartial investigation and whoever has done wrong will face action. There is no change in our stand," Bommai said.

"All the information and the money found there everything is now with the Lokayukta. Let an independent and justified investigation take place. Our objective is that the truth should come out like whose money it was and for what purpose it was meant," he added.

Regarding Congress state president D K Shivakumar's statement that this incident was a proof that the current BJP government is 40 per cent commission government, Bommai said there were many corruption charges against Congress MLAs and ministers but they covered it up by creating the ACB.

He also said many corruption cases during the Congress regime have been given to the Lokayukta, which will investigate and bring out truth.