Bangalore, Jul 20: In fresh trouble for Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, the Karnataka Lokayukta has recommended a probe into his role and that of his four ministerial colleagues including the Reddy brothers on the multi-crore illegal mining racket in the state.
The report by Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, which is to be submitted soon, has also sought an investigation into the role of former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Anil Lad, Lokayukta sources told PTI.
The Lokayukta has noted that there was need for further probe on at least two counts against Yeddyurappa, the sources said but declined to elaborate.
When contacted, Justice Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge, refused to comment on his recommendations, but sources said the four Ministers who were named in the report are: G Janardhana Reddy, G Karunakara Reddy, B Sriramulu, all hailing from the mineral-rich Bellary district, and V Somanna.
“My report is leaked...But I am sure it's not an insider's job. Obviously there are people who are interested from outside. They must have been keeping a tab,” he said. “My report is not even printed. In a day or two, I was preparing to give (submit) it,” he said referring to the second and final report on illegal mining in the state.
Lokayukta sources had in the past indicated that the report would be “politically explosive”.
The exhaustive report running into thousands of pages reportedly also has inputs from the CBI and Income Tax department, which had also probed the issue of illegal mining in the state.
Hegde, a member of the joint committee for drafting the Lokpal Bill, had earlier this month said unlike the first report submitted by him to the Government in December 2008, this time a lot of information needed to be collated. PTI
