HD Kumaraswamy calls ADGP probing mining lease case against him as ‘blackmailer and criminal’
Bengaluru, Sep 29: Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday called ADGP of Lokayukta, M Chandra Sekhar, who heads the SIT probing the 2007 mining lease case, as a 'blackmailer' and 'criminal'.
"He (Sekhar) has addressed a letter to his colleagues. I know who prepared that letter and where. I will reveal it in due course of time," Kumaraswamy told reporters here.
In the letter, referred to by Kumaraswamy, Sekhar wrote, “Today an accused in Crime No. 16/14 of SIT, Sh H D Kumaraswamy, in a press conference made false and malicious allegations and threats.”
ALSO READ: Lokayukta ADGP M. Chandrasekhar calls Kumaraswamy’s allegations ‘false, malicious’
“As you know the SIT had sought the prosecution sanction of the accused from the competent authority. This accused, who is on bail, Sh H D Kumaraswamy, has done this to deter us from discharging our duties. It appears that his objective is to create fear in the minds of officers of SIT by attacking me.”
“But an ACCUSED, however high and mighty he may be, is an ACCUSED. Let us not get de-motivated by such allegations and threats. I as the head of SIT promise you that I will work without fear or favour and bring to justice all criminals and accused in our cases. I also promise you that I will protect you from all external influences.”
The illegal mining case pertains to allegations that Kumaraswamy, during his tenure as CM from 2006 to 2008, illegally approved a 550-acre mining lease to Sri Sai Venkateswara Minerals (SSVM) in Bellary district in violation of law.
In his response to the letter, Kumaraswamy said, “I might be an accused in this case, but ‘that officer’ is a criminal in disguise of a cop. There are allegations against him for a series of criminal activities."
“A blackmailer who has carried out loot around Bengaluru by building relationship…. I have documents,” he said.
Quoting writer George Berrnard Shaw, Sekhar said, “Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.”
But, we cannot avoid confronting criminals and accused, during discharge of our duty.”
According to Kumaraswamy, Sekhar hails from Andhra Pradesh and is a Himachal Pradesh cadre IPS officer.
“Instead of working in Himachal Pradesh, he is here for the past 25 years by harbouring some people. Why is he here? He is here because Himachal Pradesh weather doesn’t suit him...,” he alleged.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah preferred not to comment on the tussle between Kumaraswamy and the IPS officer.
“He (Kumaraswamy) has made some allegation on the ADGP. He (ADGP) has replied. I know only that much," he told reporters.
Asked how the officers have started commenting on the politicians, Siddaramaiah said, “He (Kumaraswamy) has made a mistake. Why someone comments on an officer? If the officer does something unlawful then the comment is justified.”
Regarding the usage of the word ‘pig’ by the ADGP, Siddaramaiah sought to know whether the officer had referred to anyone’s name. The officer has only quoted George Bernard Shaw.
“I am not going to comment on that. I will not interfere in that,” Siddaramaiah said.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
