After much speculation of fresh trouble for the former Chief Minister, H.D. Kumaraswamy, in the Janthakal Enterprises mining case, the Lokayukta Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Thursday recorded his statement as a witness in the case and not as an accused. Though he appeared before the SIT only after securing an interim anticipatory bail, the investigating officer chose not to execute the bail as his statement was recorded only as a witness in the case. SIT chief C.S.R. Charan Reddy said this was because there was no evidence of his culpability yet.
The FIR that the SIT filed in the case had only named Vinod Goel, the GPA (general power of attorney) holder of the mining lease of Janthakal Enterprises, as an accused. The SIT added senior bureaucrat Ganga Ram Baderiya as an accused in the case, after he was arrested on Monday. However, there is no such troubles for Mr. Kumaraswamy.
The case dates back to 2007 when Mr. Baderiya was Commissioner (Mines) and H.D. Kumaraswamy was the Chief Minister. Vinod Goel had allegedly produced two letters claiming to be from Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to lift over one lakh tonnes of mined ore from Chitradurga mining area. The letters later proved to be forged and the Chitradurga police had registered a case of forgery, which was later transferred to the SIT. Mr. Baderiya had made a file noting that the [then] Chief Minister and his office had brought immense pressure on him to clear the file related to Janthakal mines within two hours. This had put the spotlight on Mr. Kumaraswamy’s role in the matter.
‘No intervention’
On Thursday, Mr. Kumaraswamy in his statement to SIT sleuths denied any intervention in the case. He claimed to have neither called nor orally directed any official to bypass any legal procedure. Mr. Reddy said that subsequent investigations had not yet revealed any evidence of culpability on the part of the former Chief Minister, and that is why his statement was recorded as a witness. “The status may change if any evidence of his involvement surfaces,” he said.
Mr. Kumaraswamy, later speaking to presspersons, said he had honoured the notice by the SIT and cooperated with the probe. He added that he had informed the sleuths that he would be available to them whenever he was needed “I have committed no wrong which will eventually be proved after the investigation. My conscience is clear. I have taken no illegal decision during my 20-month tenure as Chief Minister,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Baderiya was produced before the special Lokayukta court on Thursday evening where he moved a bail application. The court extended his custody till May 20 and adjourned the hearing of the bail petition to the same day.
