Lokayukta traps Katta Junior red-handed

The Lokayukta probe into Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) land scam took a sensational turn on Thursday when Katta Jagadish Naidu, son of IT and BT minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, was arrested by the Lokayukta police while he was allegedly trying to bribe a witness in the case.

The arrest of Jagadish amid allegations that Katta’s family had illegally pocketed crores of rupees of compensation from KIADB which acquired huge tracts of land near Devanahalli for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), is now threatening to prove costly for Katta Subramanya Naidu too.

Pressure is mounting on chief minister BS Yeddyurappa to drop him from the ministry.

While the attention of entire police force and the people was rivetted by the much-awaited verdict of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on the Ayodhya dispute, BBMP corporator from Vasanth Nagar, Katta Jagadish Naidu was arrested by the Lokayukta police at his office in Gandhinagar on Thursday afternoon while he was allegedly trying to influence a witness in the KIADB land scam, currently being investigated by the Lokayukta.

The additional director general of police (Lokayukta) Rupak Kumar Dutta said that the Lokayukta police arrested him while he was offering a bribe of Rs1 lakh to a witness, Ramanjanappa, in the KIADB case, to convince him to depose in his favour during the investigation.

Dutta said that Ramanjanappa, a resident of RK Hegde Nagar, had filed a complaint with the Lokayukta on Tuesday, which stated that Jagadish called him over phone and directed him not to give evidence against him (Katta) to the Lokayukta. The Lokayukta police have registered cases under Section 10 (“whoever, being a public servant, in respect of whom either of the offences is committed, abets the offence, whether or not that offence is committed in consequence of that abetment, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall be not less than six months but which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine”) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 201(Causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the Indian Penal Code on Wednesday.

Dutta said that Jagadish called Ramanjanappa over phone and asked him to meet him at a hotel in Gandinagar. He met him in the hotel on Thursday afternoon and offered Rs1 lakh for his cooperation in the KIADB scam investigations. The complainant was asked to go to Jagadish’s house in Sadashivanagar to collect the money. Jagadish called his close confidant, identified as Kumar, and told him to give Rs1 lakh to the complainant.

Ramanjanappa went and collected the money from Kumar, after a trap was laid by Lokayukta police. The Lokayukta police had formed two teams to trap Jagadish. A team went to Gandinagar and another rushed to the Sadashivanagar house of the corporator. The Lokayukta police arrested Jagadish at his office at Gandhinagar at 3.30 pm on Thursday.

Another team rushed towards his house. Kumar, who handed over the money to the complainant, managed to escape by then. The police have seized the bribe money. Dutta said that they are yet to identify Kumar, who handed over the money as directed by Jagadish. Jagadish was taken to the Lokayukta office after the arrest, where he was quizzed for over two hours.

The complainant, Ramanjanappa, is one of the main witnesses in the KIADB scandal. He is also a common witness for all the five cases registered by the Lokayukta regarding KIADB scam, Dutta said. When queried about Jagadish’s role in the scam. “I cannot reveal details as an investigation is on,” Dutta said.