Lokayukta recovers Rs 6 crore unaccounted cash from BJP MLA's son's house
Bengaluru (PTI): Lokayukta sleuths recovered unaccounted cash of more than Rs six crore from the house of BJP MLA K Madal Virupakshappa's son Prashanth, close on the heels of his arrest after allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 40 lakh.
Following the Lokayukta action against his son, the BJP MLA tendered his resignation as KSDL Chairman, even as he claimed that the raid by the anti-graft agency was a conspiracy against him and his family.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai promised an impartial probe into the matter.
Prashanth, the chief accountant of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, was caught red-handed on Thursday evening while accepting the bribe from a contractor at the Karnataka Soap and Detergents Limited (KSDL) office.
Within hours of the trap, a team of Lokayukta officials raided his house and recovered the unaccounted cash.
Virupakshappa, MLA from Channagiri constituency in Davanagere district, is the chairman of KSDL and Prashanth was allegedly receiving "first installment" of the bribe on behalf of his father, according to Lokayukta sources.
Virupakshappa on Friday tendered his resignation from the post.
In his resignation letter sent to the chief minister, he said there is no "relation" between him and the Lokayukta raid, which he termed as a conspiracy against him and his family.
"Despite that since an allegation has been levelled against me, I am taking moral responsibility and submitting my resignation from the post of KSDL Chairman". he said.
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice (Retd) B S Patil said on Friday Rs 2.02 crore was recovered from the KSDL office and Rs 6.1 crore from Prashanth's house.
"Five persons (including Prashanth) have been apprehended and they have been taken into custody", he said. FIR has been registered. Meanwhile, Bommai promised an impartial inquiry and said those who have committed any wrongdoing must be punished. "This is the stand of the government".
He pointed out the incumbent government re-established the Lokayukta to check corruption.
"In the absence of the anti-corruption institution so many incidents had taken place during the Congress regime and were also hushed up", the Chief Minister said.
"Congress ministers and MLAs had 59 charges (against them) but it was hushed up as there was (only) ACB (Anti-Corruption Bureau). Once that is enquired by the Lokayukta, truth will come out", he said.
The action against Prshanth was proof that the Lokayukta has been revived to contain corruption unlike the previous Congress regime which created a separate ACB apart from the Lokayukta to "cover up their wrong deeds," Bommai said.
Due to the lack of a strong Lokayukta in the past, many corruption cases during the Congress regime could never get investigated, Bommai told reporters in Bengaluru.
"We have been repeatedly saying we will conduct impartial probe. Our stand in this case as well is that the independent Lokayukta institution will carry out impartial investigation and whoever has done wrong will face action. There is no change in our stand," Bommai said.
"All the information and the money found there everything is now with the Lokayukta. Let an independent and justified investigation take place. Our objective is that the truth should come out like whose money it was and for what purpose it was meant," he added.
Regarding Congress state president D K Shivakumar's statement that this incident was a proof that the current BJP government is 40 per cent commission government, Bommai said there were many corruption charges against Congress MLAs and ministers but they covered it up by creating the ACB.
He also said many corruption cases during the Congress regime have been given to the Lokayukta, which will investigate and bring out truth.
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Actress Honey Rose files police complaint against Boby Chemmanur, alleges 'sexual' harassment
Kochi, Jan 7: Malayalam actress Honey Rose on Tuesday lodged a police complaint against prominent businessman Boby Chemmanur, accusing him of making "repeated sexually coloured" remarks against her.
Rose posted the allegation on one of her social media handles.
Chemmanur rejected Rose's allegations, claiming there was nothing objectionable in what he had said.
Ernakulam Central police said further procedures are underway in Rose's complaint, and they will soon register a case against the businessman under BNS Section 75 (sexual harassment).
"I have filed a complaint with the Ernakulam Central Police Station against your (Chemmanur) continuous derogatory remarks about me. I will take the same action against your supporters who share the same mentality. You can continue to rely on your wealth, but I have faith in the Indian legal system," she said in her Facebook post.
She also warned others with a "similar mindset" to his of strict legal action.
In the Facebook post, Rose further told the businessman to continue believing in his money power.
Rejecting the actress's charges, Chemmanur said there were no such issues between them as raised by her.
He claimed that he didn't use any derogatory terms, as alleged by her, and he always interacted with her in a friendly manner.
"She attended two of my inauguration events. We danced... I used to tell jokes. She seemed to have no issue with those things. And now she lodged a complaint against me after months," the businessman said.
He said he did not think that she had any personal grudge against him.
The jeweller further claimed that he behaves decently with women and said he discussed the matter with his lawyers, who said there was nothing objectionable in what he had said.
Rose revealed the identity of the businessman two days after she posted on Facebook on Sunday, accusing an individual of stalking her and making sexually inappropriate remarks, including through media platforms, which she claimed outraged her modesty.
Several people posted offensive comments below her post, prompting Rose to approach the police.
The Kochi Central Police have already registered a case against 30 people and arrested one of them over her complaint about sexual harassment through social media.
The arrested man was identified as Shaji, a 60-year-old man hailing from nearby Panangad.
The accused were booked under various sections of the BNS, including Section 75 and Section 67 of the IT Act. BNS Section 75 deals with sexual harassment, and IT Act Section 67 refers to the punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.
"We have intensified our investigation. Many of those who posted such remarks have deleted them. Efforts are underway to retrieve such posts and identify the accused," a police officer said on Tuesday morning.
Rose is known for her roles in a handful of movies in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu.
