Karnataka BJP MLA, Caught In Cash-For-Contract Scandal, Says He Earned Seized Money Selling Betel Nuts

Karnataka BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa said that the money seized from his home was indeed his but he had earned it in his family's betel nuts business.

Karnataka BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa said that the money seized from his home was indeed his but he had earned it in his family's betel nuts business. ( Image Source :Facebook@madal.virupakshappa )

Amid corruption allegations against him and his son, Karnataka BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa said on Tuesday that the Rs 8.23 ​​crore seized from his house and office was earned by selling betel nuts. Earlier in the day, Channagiri MLA Virupakshappa got interim bail from the Karnataka High Court. Soon after getting bail, he told reporters in Channeshpur that this is the first time in the history of India that a raid was conducted against the MLA of the ruling party.

According to news agency PTI, the BJP MLA admitted that the money found in his house belonged to his family. He said, “We belong to the land of betel nuts. An ordinary farmer of betel nuts has Rs 5-6 crore in his house. I have 125 acres of betel nut farm, betel nut market, and many other businesses. I will present proper documents to the Lokayukta and get my money back."

The unaccounted cash was recovered from the office of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited, of which Virupakshappa was the chairman, after a trap by Lokayukta in which his son was caught red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 40 lakh. The MLA subsequently quit the post.

Further searches led to the recovery of about Rs 2 crore from the KSDL office and over Rs 6 crore from Prashanth's house. 

Lokayukta officials caught Virupakshappa's son Prashant Kumar MV red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 40 lakh from a contractor on behalf of his father at the KSDL office. In a raid on March 3, Rs 8.23 ​​crore in cash, a huge amount of gold and silver jewelery, and proof of large investments in plots were recovered from the house of the Madal family.

Prashant Kumar MV is the chief accounts officer of the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board. He has claimed his innocence. Prashant says that since he had no administrative authority to sign any tender document, he has not done anything wrong. 

Virupakshappa said that the KSDL officials had cleared all the tenders in a transparent manner and there was no corruption. He said, "I have not done anything wrong, so the court granted me bail." He said that some people had hatched a conspiracy against him with malicious political intentions. 

The court granted Madal Virupakshappa bail under the condition of a Rs 5-lakh bond and surety and directed him to appear before Lokayukta within 48 hours. "Prima facie there's no material in FIR or in the complaint, therefore the court granted anticipatory bail to MLA Madal Virupakshappa," Madal Virupakshappa's lawyer K Suman said.