Former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy faced fresh trouble on multiple fronts on Tuesday. The Special Lokayukta Court has dismissed his anticipatory bail plea in the Janthakal Enterprises mining case, raising fears of his arrest. He, however, has already moved the High Court appealing against the order.
This came just an hour before former Minister G. Janardhan Reddy submitted evidence against him in the ₹150 crore bribery scandal of 2006 that had then rocked the BJP-JD(S) coalition government.
The Lokayukta Special Investigation Team (SIT), in the second week of May, issued a notice to Mr. Reddy asking him to submit evidence. Mr. Reddy appeared before the SIT on Tuesday and submitted the evidence that he said was “clinching” to prove the charge. “I have submitted all necessary documents —bank statements, a pen drive and other evidence to prove the charge,” he told presspersons. When quizzed about why he couldn’t prove the charges earlier, he said this was the first time that any probe was being conducted in the case. Mr. Reddy had then alleged that Mr. Kumaraswamy had taken a bribe of ₹150 crore from mining barons in Ballari. However, Mr. Reddy had failed to provide any evidence then. However, no probe had been conducted in the case till date. The Supreme Court ordered a probe in March after hearing a petition filed by T.J. Abraham.
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In the Janthakal mining case, the SIT had arrested senior bureaucrat Gangaram Baderiya and recorded the statement of Mr. Kumaraswamy as a witness. However, it later changed stance and named him as accused in the case, prompting him to seek anticipatory bail, which was rejected on Tuesday.