BENGALURU: It was double trouble for state JD(S) chief and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday. First, the Lokayukta Special Court on Tuesday rejected his anticipatory bail plea in the Janthakal mining case. Then the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the illegal mining case, received documents in support of the bribery charge against him from mining baron and former BJP minister Gali Janardhana Reddy, who is a witness in the case.
Lokayukta Special Court Judge Gopala observed that anticipatory bail cannot be granted as the allegations against the accused amount to economical offence, considering the verdicts of the Supreme Court in similar cases. Fearing his arrest, Kumaraswamy quickly moved the Karnataka High Court seeking anticipatory bail. It may come up before the court for hearing on Wednesday.
SIT officials refused to comment on the possibility of Kumaraswamy’s arrest before that. On Tuesday, BJP leader Reddy submitted documents in a pen drive to the SIT to support his claims that Kumaraswamy took `150 crore kickback from mining firms.
Kumaraswamy is accused of pressurising IAS officer Ganga Ram Baderiya, the then Commissioner of Mines and Geology, to allow Vinod Goel of Janthakal Mining Company to lift iron and manganese ore dumped in Chitradurga in 2007. It was based on forged letters purportedly issued by Ministry of Environment and Forest asking the state to lift the dumped iron ore.