KSDL bribery case: AAP urges Lokayukta probe against ex-BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa

This incident took place before the Karnataka Assembly elections. It was the main reason for BJP’s crushing defeat in the state.

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‘Reflection of the bad system’

“Shreyas Kashyap had complained to the Lokayukta that Madal Virupakshappa had asked for a bribe to sell raw materials related to perfumes. Madal’s son and KAS officer Prashant Madal, was caught by the Lokayukta police while accepting a bribe on behalf of his father. Prashant Madal was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹40 lakh. He was arrested,” he said in a statement.

After that, even during a Lokayukta raid on Madal Virupakshappa’s house, ₹8 crore were found but he gave the same account that it was money from selling areca nuts.

“Didn’t the BJP government at least know that the case should be investigated after obtaining the permission of the prosecution? Why did Lokayukta file an FIR without the permission of the prosecution? The fact that such a big case has been dismissed is a reflection of the bad system,” he said.

The High Court of Karnataka has quashed a bribery case pending against former BJP MLA from Channagiri, Madal Virupakshappa.

The case was registered after his son, Prashanth Madal, a KAS officer, was caught accepting a bribe of ₹40 lakh allegedly on behalf of his father. Subsequently, more cash was found in his residence.

“Prima facie, it is the son who has to answer the allegations in a full-blown trial,” the single bench of the high court said while quashing the case against Virupakshappa on 20 December.

Justice M Nagaprasanna in his judgement quashed the case pending before the special court for sitting and former legislators and said that there was no evidence against Virupakshappa, but his son should answer for the cash found.

Virupakshappa was booked under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act for demanding bribes from firms that supplied chemicals to KSDL.

Also ead: HC quashes bribery case against ex-BJP MLA Virupakshappa

The incident

The MLA’s son Prashanth was trapped red-handed while accepting ₹40 lakh IN cash at his father’s office on Crescent Road in the first week of March.

He was accepting a bribe from Shreyas Kashyap, the owner of a chemical company, for the granting of a tender or contract for supplying chemical raw materials to KSDL. Virupakshappa was then its chairman.

Prashanth, who is a chief accountant with the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), was immediately arrested — along with four others — from the office.

While two of the arrested, Siddesh and Surendhar, were office associates of Prashanth, two others — Albert Nicholas and Gangadhar — from Karnataka Aromas were waiting in the same office to offer ₹90 lakh (₹45 lakh each) as bribes to Prashanth. The money was also seized by the police.

The Lokayukta police also searched Madal’s house and recovered ₹8.23 crore, including the money from the office, after which the law enforcement agencies registered two more FIRs against the MLA.

Virupakshappa managed to obtain conditional bail even though he appeared before the investigating agency, and he did not cooperate with the investigations, following which the Lokayukta officials approached the high court and got his conditional bail cancelled on 27 March.

Virupakshappa was arrested by the Lokayukta police within hours, while he was on his way to Bengaluru from Tumakuru.

He was sent to five-day custody and questioned in detail before he was remanded in judicial custody till 11 April, and the court directed the Lokayukta officials to file their objections to his bail plea.

(With PTI inputs)