Yeddyurappa seeks 10 days to appear before ACB

Former Chief Minister and state BJP president B.S. Yeddyurappa has sought 10 days’ time to appear before the Anti Corruption Bureau in connection with the case probing the illegal denotification of land acquired for the Dr. K. Shivaram Karanth Layout in north Bengaluru. Mr. Yeddyurappa has been accused of dropping 257 acres from the preliminary notification of the layout bypassing the denotified committee approval, allegedly misusing his official position and ignoring the adverse reports submitted by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). The cases were registered following a complaint filed by a member of the Jana Samanya Vedike, a city-based social organisation. Apart from Mr. Yeddyurappa, the ACB has also named former Additional Chief Secretary Subir Hari Singh, Urban Development Department Deputy Secretary Basavaraju, Under Secretary Premachandra, BDA’s Special Land Acquisition Officer H. Basavarajendra and Deputy Commissioner Land Acquisition Gaurishankar. Stating that there were only two days’ between the issue of summons and date of appearance, Mr. Yeddyurappa has sought 10 days’ time to “gather all facts”. “I am making efforts to get all the necessary details regarding the above mentioned case from various government departments under RTI Act. I therefore request you to provide me 10 days’ time to gather all facts and appear before you so that I will be in a position to answer all questions that may arise in connection with the investigation of the above case,” he has stated in his letter to ACB.

Accused complains to CS

Meanwhile, Mr. Basavarajendra, who has been named as an accused in the denotification case, has alleged that the ACB officials were “forcing” him to sign a statement against Mr. Yeddyurappa. In a letter to Chief Secretary Subhash Chandra Khuntia on Saturday, he has alleged that the ACB’s two Deputy Superintendents of Police - Balaraj and J.K. Anthony John - pressured him to give a statement against Mr. Yeddyurappa. Mr. Basavarajendra, who served as special land acquisition officer of the BDA from July 2010 to September 2011, alleged that the DySPs threatened to make him an accused in the case after reminding him that he was due for promotion to IAS. “Since I refused to heed to the illegal demands made by them, now I have come to know on enquiry that I have been arrayed as accused number 2 in respect of the case registered by ACB,” he has stated in the letter. Mr. Basavarajendra claimed that he was summoned to the ACB office a couple of times earlier this month with regard to investigation of denotification of the land acquired for the layout. On August 10, he claimed the DySPs started dictating a statement against Mr. Yeddyurappa and how the illegal orders of denotification had caused a loss of ₹2,000 crore to the government. “At that time, I intervened and stated that I do not know anything about the said fact.... all that i have done is I have discharged the duties assigned to me as Land Acquisition Officer...” he has stated in the letter.