BANGALORE: A day after Katta Subramanya Naidu promised to "expose" those behind the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) land scam, his son - Katta Jagadish, a corporator - was caught by the Lokayukta police for buying the silence of a witness by offering him a bribe of Rs 1 lakh.
Naidu is the Housing Minister in CM B S Yeddyurappa's Cabinet and is alleged to have cheated KIADB to the tune of crores.
In fact, he had visited the Lokayukta's office on Monday along with his son and had pleaded innocence. He had also asked Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde to go easy on him and his son. Jagadish was arrested around 3.30 pm on Thursday by Lokayukta SP Madhukar Shetty and his team. One Ramanjanappa had approached them on September 28 saying that Jagadih was pressuring him not to give evidence in the scam.
Ramanjanappa allegedly had evidence that Katta and his father had forged documents to collect compensation illegally from the KIADB.
On Thursday, Jagadish called Ramanjanappa to a hotel in Gandhinagar. He offered him `1 lakh, which was to be collected from one Kumar at his house in Sadashivnagar. The Lokayukta team immediately arrested Jagadish after he made the offer.
Soon after Jagadish was arrested, his father went to the CM's house in his private car, giving rise to speculations that he might resign soon.
A criminal case under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 201 of the IPC was registered against Jagadish. Section 201 relates to causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offender. He is in police custody and will be produced before a magistrate on Friday.
Ironically, Justice Hegde was in Shimla to deliver a lecture titled "Indian democracy at crossroads" at the time of Jagadish's arrest.