Now, Lokayukta cops grill home minister

The team of Lokayukta police, which had summon and grilled former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa last month for his alleged role in a scam, questioned sitting home and transport minister R Ashok for around one and a half hours in connection with a land grabbing case yesterday.

According to sources, the minister, who had been summoned by the officials earlier also, showed up for the questioning session without making a fuss and replied to all the queries posed to him.

So what the trigger of this sudden show of urgency? After being pulled up by the Lokayukta court for failing to submit a progress report in the case involving the home minister on November 22, the Lokayukta police have apparently swung into action.
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And this time they seem committed to ready with the report when the case comes up for hearing next month.

"We have recorded a statement of the home minister and would submit the same before the court," said an official, who was a part of the investigation.

A private complaint, filed before the Lokayukta court last month by advocate Jayakumar Hiremath, alleged that Ashok illegally denotified 22 guntas in Lottegollahalli, which was earlier acquired by the Bangalore Development Authority for a residential colony.

The complaint also names B S Yeddyurappa as an accused. According to Hiremath, the illegal land acquisition by Ashok bled the exchequer of Rs 26 crore.

Earlier, a Right to Information activist, M Manjunath, had filed a similar complaint before the 23rd additional civil and sessions court.
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The court, on March 24, had directed the Lokayukta police to probe the matter under Section 202 (1) of the CrPc. The police were directed to submit its report by May 4. Ashoka then moved the high court on March 31, seeking quashing of the complaint.

The Lokayukta police had summoned and grilled Yedyurappa before he was remanded to judicial custody on a land grabbing case.