Karnataka bribery case: HC asks KSDL to allow testing of samples from 3 firms

KSDL chairman and BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa and his son Prashanth Madal were booked on a Lokayukta complaint lodged by an official of Chemixil Corporation where the MLA was accused of demanding a Rs 40-lakh bribe to clear his contract to supply raw materials.

Prashanth, a government official, was allegedly caught red-handed while receiving the Rs 40 lakh-bribe from Chemixil Corporation partner Shreyas Kashyap on March 2. The MLA, who resigned as KSDL chairman on March 3, is the prime accused in the case and has obtained anticipatory bail from the court.

It was nearly two weeks before Prashanth’s arrest, the three suppliers approached the court against the KSDL’s rejection of their tender bids. They told the court that KSDL officials claimed their samples had been contaminated “only to reject the bids”. They sought a directive to get the samples tested by an independent agency, preferably the Indian Institute of Science. The court last week asked the KSDL “to hand over the samples to respondent No.3 (IISc) for its quality check”.

Shreyas Kashyap told the Lokayukta police in February that he was asked by the KSDL chairman to pay a Rs 1.2-crore bribe for a contract for his firm and an associate firm, Delicia Chemicals, to supply 5,100 kg of Guaiacwood oil and 29,520 kg of Abbalide.

Kashyap struck a deal for the two firms to pay a Rs 81 lakh bribe for the supply contracts, with an initial payment of Rs 40 lakh to the KSDL chairman’s son. The negotiations for the bribe payments with the MLA’s son were reportedly recorded on a smartwatch camera by the businessman.

The Lokayukta police laid a trap on the basis of the Kashyap’s complaint and allegedly caught Prashanth, a Karnataka Administrative Services official and the chief accounts officer of the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board, on the take at his private office in central Bengaluru.

A total of Rs 2.02 crore of bribes taken from KSDL suppliers was allegedly found in his possession while Rs 6.10 crore was seized from the residence of the BJP MLA, a close associate of former chief minister B S Yediyurappa.

Kashyap and his associate T A S Murthy negotiated for the payment of Rs 81 lakh as a bribe to be awarded a contract worth around Rs 4.8 crore following a tender floated in January, after Prashanth demanded a Rs 1.2-crore bribe from the two firms.

Kashyap reportedly used a Tecno View smartwatch to record his conversations with Prashanth, to whom he was allegedly referred by the MLA in February.

The Lokayukta investigation has found that the KSDL awarded contracts for the supply of raw materials at over 50 per cent profit margins to firms run by Prashanth’s friends.

The Lokayukta police have accused officials of Karnataka Aromas Ltd and its sister concerns of paying Rs 90 lakh bribes for the KSDL’s supply contracts. Two field employees of Karnataka Aromas Company—Albert Nicola and Gangadhar—are among six people named in the bribery case involving the MLA and his son.

“A total of Rs 2,02,00,000 was seized from the private office of Shri Prashant Madal on Crescent Road and Rs 6,10,30,000 were seized from the residence of Shri Madal Virupakshappa,” the police stated after searches on March 2 and 3.

The Rs 2.02 crore unaccounted cash found in Prashanth’s office is linked to the illegal payments made with respect to the KSDL contracts, sources said.