A case has been registered against Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on charges of extortion and criminal intimidation. The development comes following a complaint by a realtor in Karnataka's capital Bengaluru, police said on Thursday. Along with Kumaraswamy, who holds Steel and Heavy Industries portfolio, former MLC of the JD(S) Ramesh Gowda was also booked by the Amruthahalli police in the case.
Vijay Tata, the complainant, alleged that he was the JD(S) social media vice president but had distanced himself from the party as he was focusing on his real estate business. However, on August 24, Gowda came home and called Kumaraswamy from his phone. The Minister told him that the party needed Rs 50 crore for the Channapatna by-elections as it has decided to field his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy this time, Tata alleged.
The realtor also claimed that when he expressed his inability to pay, Kumaraswamy allegedly threatened him with dire consequences. Reacting to the allegation, Kumaraswamy told reporters, “Is this a topic to discuss? Should I answer all this? Should I respond to every other dog on the street?”
Kumaraswamy on 'illegal mining case'
Earlier on September 29, Kumaraswamy had called ADGP of Lokayukta, M Chandra Sekhar, who heads the SIT probing the 2007 mining lease case, as a 'blackmailer' and 'criminal'. "He (Sekhar) has addressed a letter to his colleagues. I know who prepared that letter and where. I will reveal it in due course of time," Kumaraswamy told the media. The illegal mining case pertains to allegations that Kumaraswamy, during his tenure as CM from 2006 to 2008, illegally approved a 550-acre mining lease to Sri Sai Venkateswara Minerals (SSVM) in Bellary district in violation of law.
(With inputs from PTI)
