A city-based advocate has lodged a complaint with the anti-corruption bureau urging it to initiate probe into various jail irregularities, including the Rs 2 crore paid in bribe by AIDMK (Amma) general secretary V K Sasikala for preferential treatment in prison.
"I have lodged a complaint with the ACB, urging it to initiate inquiry into the irregularities including Rs 2 crore exchanging hands to provide special facilities to Sasikala, inside Parapanna Agrahara Central Prison," S Nataraj Sharma told PTI here.
The onus is now on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, whose brainchild the ACB is, to initiate inquiry by lodging an FIR against corrupt officials who have been named in former deputy inspector general (prisons) D Roopa's report, Sharma said.
However, he added that if the ACB does not initiate inquiry he would move the High Court seeking judicial inquiry into the episode.
He also termed as "incomprehensible" the reason for former Karnataka director general of police (prisons) H N Sathyanarayana Rao serving a notice on Roopa seeking a public apology.
"It is out of comprehension, why should Rao, in a hurry, serve a legal notice to Roopa? He could have waited for Vinay Kumar's report," he said.
"You (D Roopa) are required to get an apology duly published in all leading newspapers in the next three days, failing which I will be constrained to initiate appropriate legal proceedings both civil and criminal against you to recover damages from you and the same is quantified as Rs50 crore tentatively," Rao had said in the notice.
Rao also had said he would be approaching the income tax department to find out the "trail of Rs 2 crore".
The Karnataka government had shunted out Roopa on July 17.
Roopa, in an audio clip sent to PTI yesterday, said she had "done her duty".
Further Sharma urged the ACB to take a lead from a confessional statement made by Australia-based NRI VC Prakash to the Delhi Police in connection with the election commission bribery case.
Prakash had confessed that he had helped arranging meetings between the AIADMK party leaders, including deputy general secretary T T V Dhinakaran and Sasikala, inside Parapana Agrahara prison as he "knew some jail officials".
The confessional statement of Prakash says, "Mallikarjun (a close aide of Dhinakaran) also asked me to help organise their meetings with Sasikala lodged in Bangalore jail as I knew some jail officials."
Prakash, who was till recently holding a minister of state rank in the government, also had confessed that he had helped Mallikarjun, to send Rs 2 crore to Delhi.
Sharma also urged the ACB to investigate into the reason for Roopa to release photographs of alleged irregularities to media before reaching it to the higher officer or the government.
"Was there any threat to her to do so?" he asked.
Sharma also urged the ACB to investigate into Roopa's charge that about 18 out of 28 inmates were proved using ganja in prison on her inspection.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
