Sampangi's faking it, says Lokayukta

MLA Y Sampangi's hospital-hopping may not help him evade jail if Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde has his way.
Hegde has instructed his lawyers to argue the case saying that Sampangi be sent back to judicial remand, which he had evaded on the pretext of being ill.

"I have asked them to argue that he was showing disrespect to the court order. His bail application should be rejected until he serves the judicial remand in jail. Judicial custody is so that it can help investigations. He has to be physically present. We will ask the judge to send him back to judicial custody and call him for bail only after he spends time in jail," he said.

Sampangi was sent to judicial custody till February 3.

Justice Hegde is convinced that Sampangi is faking his illness. "He did not tell he was ill before the magistrate.

Only when he reached the jail, did he fall sick," he said. "It has become common among the powerful. They report sick and spend time in hospitals. If the court says Sampangi should complete the term in judicial custody after treatment, it could serve as a precedent."