A local court on Saturday directed Lokayukta police to submit final report by November 21 in a land scam allegedly involving Karnataka Home Minister R Ashoka and former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.
Lokayukta Special Court judge N K Sudhindra Rao said he would pass orders in the case, if Lokayukta police failed to submit final report by that date.
RTI activist Jayakumar Hiremath had filed a complaint accusing Mr. Ashoka of being involved in illegal denotification of government land causing an estimated Rs 50 crore loss to the state exchequer.
In his complaint, Mr. Hiremath said the minister had allegedly denotified 9.12 guntas and 14 guntas (a gunta is 1/40 of an acre) of land belonging to Bangalore Development Authority in Lottegollahalli when B S Yeddyurappa was the chief minister.
Mr. Yeddyurappa, who is already in judicial custody in connection with an another corruption case, is the second accused in the complaint.
On October 21, Lokayukta police had filed an FIR against Mr. Ashoka and Mr. Yeddyurappa on charges of being involved in illegal denotification of government land.
When the case came up, Lokayukta Deputy SP Abdul Ahad sought two months time for examining more than 25 witnesses and documents related to the illegal denotification of government land.
Overruling Mr. Ahad’s request, Justice Rao directed the Lokayukta police to submit the final report by November 21 after he was given to understand that a forensic examination of documents was not required in the particular case.
When asked why no action has been initiated against two ministers after Lokayukta filed FIR in land scams, Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda told reporters, “The complaints are still pending. I am not going to comment on it now”.
He was apparently referring to the FIRs filed against Karnataka Home Minister R Ashoka and Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani.
During B S Yeddyurappa’s tenure as Chief Minister, Katta Subramanya Naidu stepped down as Minister after Lokayukta police registered an FIR against him in connection with a land scam.
