Ahead of the upcoming Karnataka elections, the BJP suffered a major embarrassment after Lokayukta police recovered Rs 6 crore cash from the house of Channagiri BJP MLA Madaal Virupakshappa’s son Prashanth Kumar. This came a day after Prashanth, chief accounts officer of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, was caught taking a bribe of Rs 40 lakh from a contractor at the Karnataka Soap and Detergent Limited (KSDL) office, reported The Indian Express.
Acting on tip-off, Lokayukta police apprehended him while he was receiving the bribe from an individual at the Crescent Road office of his father. During the raid, Rs 1.2 crore was recovered from the MLAs office where his son was caught.
Later, police searched the residence of the accused in Dollars Colony, Sanjaynagar, which led to the seizure of unaccounted cash worth Rs six crore. The raids continued on Friday.
An FIR was filed on Thursday morning by the individual who was asked to pay the bribe. Police said that Rs 81 lakh was demanded, out of which Rs 40 lakh was handed over. The contractor had approached the Lokayukta a week ago and the trap was laid, reported PTI.
Prashant was arrested by police, and an investigation in the case is underway. Prashant previously worked with the now-defunct Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) as a financial adviser. Meanwhile, the two-time MLA from Channagiri in Devangere district had disclosed assets worth Rs 5.73 crore in his affidavit in the 2018 Assembly elections.
Following the arrest, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the trap 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 institution to cover up their wrong deeds.
“We have been repeatedly saying that we will conduct an impartial probe. Our stand in this case as well is that the independent Lokayukta institution will carry out an 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.