Bribery case: HC grants interim anticipatory bail to BJP MLA Madal Virupaksha in bribery case
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to Channagiri BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa, who is the main accused in the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents (KSDL) contract scam.
His son Prashanth Madal, who is the chief accounts officer of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, was arrested by the Lokayutka police on March 2 while allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 40 lakh on behalf of his father at the KSDL office.
A single judge bench of Justice K Natarajan granted the anticipatory bail to the MLA after hearing his petition.
Virupakashappa resigned as chairperson of KSDL following his son's arrest.
While granting the conditional bail, the court directed the MLA to appear before the investigating officer in the case within 48 hours of receiving the order copy. The anticipatory bail was granted subject to a bond of Rs 5 lakh.
Virupakshappa was also directed not to tamper with the witness while on bail. The hearing of the petition was adjourned to March 17.
The MLA's petition claimed that he had no role to play in the alleged bribery case and he has been falsely implicated in it. The alleged scam relates to the supply of chemical to KSDL in which a bribe of Rs 81 lakh was allegedly demanded.
His son was allegedly caught while receiving Rs 40 lakh of this bribe on his behalf.
Following the arrest of Prashanth Madal, the Lokayukta police had conducted further search operations in the home and offices of the Madals and recovered over Rs 8.23 crore in cash.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
NZ batter Martin Guptill retires from international cricket
Auckland, Jan 8: New Zealand batter Martin Guptill on Wednesday announced his retirement from international cricket, though the 38-year-old will continue to play in the T20 leagues around the world.
Currently, Guptill, who last played for New Zealand in 2022, is leading the Auckland Aces in this season's Super Smash.
"As a young kid it was always my dream to play for New Zealand and I feel incredibly lucky and proud to have played 367 games for my country," Guptill said in a statement issued by the New Zealand Cricket.
"I will forever cherish the memories made wearing the silver fern alongside a great group of guys," he added.
Guptill has played 47 Tests but the white ball format was his calling card. He scored 7346 runs from 198 matches with 18 hundreds and 39 fifties.
The right-hander also appeared in 122 T20I for the Blackcaps, making 3531 runs with two hundreds and 20 fifties.
Guptill is the first Kiwi player to score a hundred on ODI debut and he also became the first New Zealander to score an ODI double-century during the ICC World Cup 2015 when he smashed 237 in the quarter-final win over the West Indies at Wellington.
New Zealand Test captain Tom Latham said Guptill was a true match winner.
"Firstly, I'd just like to congratulate Gup on a fantastic international career. I was fortunate to open the batting with him over many years and I often felt I had the best seat in the house to watch him go about his work.
"On his day Gup was world-class and his crisp ball striking and timing could take down the best bowling attacks in the world.
"His numbers speak for themselves, but it was the matches he helped us win that I'll remember, along with the way he set the standard in the field," said Latham.
Among the most memorable moment for him as a fielder was his stunning direct hit run-out of Mahendra Singh Dhoni during New Zealand's semifinal win over India at the 2019 World Cup in England.
