Bangalore: Karnataka’s Lokayukta police on Thursday filed a First Information Report (FIR) against three former chief ministers, including external affairs minister S M Krishna, for alleged offences related to illegal mining and deforestation. The other ex-CMs accused in the FIR filed with a designated Lokayukta court are N Dharam Singh and H D Kumaraswamy. It also names four IAS officers and an IPS officer.
In a statement Krishna denied any wrongdoing. He said the then Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde had conducted an inquiry into the mining issue from 1999 to 2010, which covered his tenure as CM from 1999 to 2004, and never accused him. “There is no indictment of me anywhere in the Lokayukta report. The fact that Justice Hegde has gone on record in public only confirms this,’’ he added.
Krishna denied de-reservation of forests happened on his watch. The cabinet, some time in 2003, decided to de-reserve mineral wealth for mining and the government was fully empowered to take such a decision as per the Minerals Concession Rules, 1960. A gazette notification was issued pursuant to this cabinet decision. “When a gazette notification has been issued, it is abundantly clear that nothing has been done in secret, Krishna said. No mining licence was issued during my tenure: Krishna
“I wish to point out that I never retained the portfolio of mines and geology. Further, to the best of my knowledge, no mining licence was issued during my tenure. Even if such licences were issued, this would have been done by the competent authority of the mines & geology department,’’ Krishna said.
Although BJP and Kiran Bedi of Team Anna demanded Krishna’s resignation, Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi rejected. “No investigation has been carried out against him,” Alvi said. Sources in the Congress said Krishna has the right to move court for relief.
H D Kumaraswamy also claimed he was innocent. “I’m not worried as I’m confident of winning this case. The high court has cleared me in the Jantakal mining case. As I’m fighting corruption, this is a conspiracy by those accused of corruption.’’
The four IAS officers named in the FIR are Gangaram Baderiya, V Umesh, I R Perumal, Mahendra Jain along with retired officers K S Manjunath and D S Ashwath. Named as well are former IPS officer Jija Madhavan Hari Singh, former director of mines and geology department Basappa Reddy, deputy general managers of Mysore Minerals Ltd K Srinivas, M Ramappa and Shankarlingaiah.
The FIR follows the order from the 23rd additional city civil and sessions court (designated Lokayukta court) after a private complaint filed by city-based businessman and activist TJ Abraham. The private complaint alleged that despite implicating several politicians and officials in two reports of Lokayukta for their involvement in illegal mining, no action had been initiated against them.
In a statement Krishna denied any wrongdoing. He said the then Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde had conducted an inquiry into the mining issue from 1999 to 2010, which covered his tenure as CM from 1999 to 2004, and never accused him. “There is no indictment of me anywhere in the Lokayukta report. The fact that Justice Hegde has gone on record in public only confirms this,’’ he added.
Krishna denied de-reservation of forests happened on his watch. The cabinet, some time in 2003, decided to de-reserve mineral wealth for mining and the government was fully empowered to take such a decision as per the Minerals Concession Rules, 1960. A gazette notification was issued pursuant to this cabinet decision. “When a gazette notification has been issued, it is abundantly clear that nothing has been done in secret, Krishna said. No mining licence was issued during my tenure: Krishna
“I wish to point out that I never retained the portfolio of mines and geology. Further, to the best of my knowledge, no mining licence was issued during my tenure. Even if such licences were issued, this would have been done by the competent authority of the mines & geology department,’’ Krishna said.
Although BJP and Kiran Bedi of Team Anna demanded Krishna’s resignation, Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi rejected. “No investigation has been carried out against him,” Alvi said. Sources in the Congress said Krishna has the right to move court for relief.
H D Kumaraswamy also claimed he was innocent. “I’m not worried as I’m confident of winning this case. The high court has cleared me in the Jantakal mining case. As I’m fighting corruption, this is a conspiracy by those accused of corruption.’’
The four IAS officers named in the FIR are Gangaram Baderiya, V Umesh, I R Perumal, Mahendra Jain along with retired officers K S Manjunath and D S Ashwath. Named as well are former IPS officer Jija Madhavan Hari Singh, former director of mines and geology department Basappa Reddy, deputy general managers of Mysore Minerals Ltd K Srinivas, M Ramappa and Shankarlingaiah.
The FIR follows the order from the 23rd additional city civil and sessions court (designated Lokayukta court) after a private complaint filed by city-based businessman and activist TJ Abraham. The private complaint alleged that despite implicating several politicians and officials in two reports of Lokayukta for their involvement in illegal mining, no action had been initiated against them.
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