In a new twist to the land denotification scam in which BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa has been booked by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), a Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) officer, who is an accused in the case, alleged on Saturday that he was “forced” to sign a statement against the BJP leader.
Writes letter
In letters written to the Governor Vajubhai R. Vala, Chief Secretary Subhash Chandra Khuntia, and the State Human Rights Commission, KAS officer H. Basavarajendra 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 Dy.SPs threatened to make him an accused in the case after reminding him that he was due for promotion to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
Accused no. 2
“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 the 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 Dy.SPs 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. The ACB authorities then told him to go along with the statement or become an accused in the case.
The bureaucrat says that he refused to sign the statement and walked out of the office, after which he received a notice from the ACB on August 17, where a case was registered against him under Section 41A of the Cr.PC.