In Poll Year, Karnataka BJP Left Red-Faced After Rs 6 Crore Recovered From MLA's Son Caught Taking Bribe

Madal Virupakshappa, a BJP MLA from Karnataka's Channagiri in the Davanagere district was under scrutiny after his son, Prashanth Madal, was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 40 lakh.

Lokayukta police recover Rs 6 crore from the house of BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa's son Prashanth Kumar a day after he was allegedly caught taking bribe from a contractor in Bengaluru.

Source : PTI

After Rs 6 crore in unaccounted cash was recovered from his house by the anti-corruption wing of Lokayukta, Madal Virupakshappa, a BJP MLA from Karnataka, resigned from his post as chairman of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited, which is responsible for manufacturing Mysore sandal soap.

The MLA from Channagiri in the Davanagere district was under scrutiny after his son, Prashanth Madal, was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 40 lakh. Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited is a state-owned enterprise.

• Lokayukta officials recovered unaccounted cash of over Rs 6 crore from the house of BJP MLA K Madal Virupakshappa’s son Prashanth Madal after his arrest for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 40 lakh.
• Prashanth, the chief accountant of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe from a contractor.
• A team of Lokayukta officials raided Prashanth's house and recovered the illegal cash within hours of the trap.
• Virupakshappa, MLA from Channagiri constituency and chairman of KSDL, allegedly received the 'first instalment' of the bribe on behalf of his father.

• Facing heat, Virupakshappa resigned from his post of KSDL Chairman, stating that there was no relation between him and the Lokayukta raid and called it a 'conspiracy' against him and his family.
• Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the trap was proof that the Lokayukta has been "revived" to check corruption.
• Karnataka Lokayukta Justice (Retd) B S Patil said Rs 2.02 crore was recovered from the KSDL office and Rs 6.1 crore from Prashanth's house, and an FIR has been registered.
• MLA Virupakshappa is the accused number one, and his son is the second accused in the FIR.
• The other accused in the FIR include office accountant Surendra, Prashanth's relative Siddesh, and two field workers in the 'Karnataka Aromas Company.'
• Searches were conducted at various other locations, including the residential premises of the Managing Director of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited.
• The Congress took the oportunity to lambast the BJP. "The fact that the BJP govt. in Karnataka operates on a "40% commission" is well-known, & this discovery is just the tip of the iceberg," the party said.