The Lokayukta police on Saturday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against 30 people, including former Chief Ministers H.D. Deve Gowda, S.M. Krishna and B.S. Yeddyurappa, in the alleged multi-crore scam related to the Bangalore–Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project.
The FIR was registered following the October 25 direction of the Special Lokayukta Court to conduct a probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the BMIC project. The court had ordered a probe based on a private complaint by T.J. Abraham.
The others named as accused in the FIR are Minister for Public Works C.M. Udasi, former Ministers D.K. Shivakumar and R.V. Deshpande, Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE), which is executing the project, the company’s managing director Ashok Kheny, vice-chairman of Kalyani Group/Bharath Forge Ltd. Baba Kalyani, IAS officers Subir Hari Singh, G.V. Kongawad, B.S. Patil, T. Sham Bhat, Vijay Gore and M.B. Dyaberi and the former Chairman of ICICI Bank Narayan Vagul.
The former Governor of Massachusetts, the U.S., William Weld, and CEO of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. Richard Hangen, who were signatories to the memorandum of understanding signed in 1995 for the project when Mr. Gowda was the Chief Minister, are among the other accused.
Next hearing
Additional Director-General of Police (Lokayukta) H.N. Sathyanarayana Rao told The Hindu the investigation would be carried out as directed by the court and a progress report would be submitted when the case comes up for hearing before the court on November 27.
While ordering probe, the court had also issued directions for attaching the excess land handed over for the project and the toll collected by NICE after the completion of a peripheral ring road constructed as part of the BMIC project.
