Bangalore: Katta family scam involves 3,000 acres

DHNS

Bangalore, 02 October 2010: A day after Lokayukta sleuths trapped IT-BT minister Katta Subramanya Naidu’s son Katta Jagadish, Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde revealed that the Katta family is involved in irregularities spanning over 3,000 acres, involving the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB).

Justice Hegde told reporters here on Friday that the scam took place when KIADB started acquiring land for an IT company called Itaska, which needed 325 acres of land.

"There were a lot of irregularities in land denotification as well as disbursal of compensation concerning this land. While some land owners did not get compensation at all, as duplicate beneficiaries were created to collect compensation, others were made to sign a GPA and were given Rs 5-10 lakh, after collecting Rs 35-40 lakh compensation from KIADB. We got a clue to the scam when the Lokayukta raided the house of a KIADB official,’’ Justice Hegde said.

Family involvement

Stating that Katta’s family was involved, Justice Hegde said that Naidu’s wife Soubhagya had bought some land for Rs 9 lakh and received compensation of Rs 4 crore. Besides, Katta Jagadish himself purchased some land, paying a few lakh rupees, but received compensation to the tune of Rs 40 lakh.

Interestingly, Justice Hegde also pointed out at the ownership of Itaska company itself. "On Thursday, Jagadish had called Ramanjinappa, the complainant in the case, to the Itaska office in Gandhinagar to negotiate with him to withdraw the statement. Besides, one of the former Special Land Acquisition Officers, against whom the Lokayukta has filed a case, has taken voluntary retirement and joined Itaska company,’’ Justice Hegde said.

Katta meeting and threat to witness

"After the raid on the Land Acquisition Office at Gandhinagar, Katta had visited my office. He told me he was law abiding and there was a conspiracy against him. He pleaded for justice and I assured him that I would not allow any injustice to happen,’’ Justice Hegde said.

However, Hegde expressed his displeasure about the way Katta’s supporters behaved when Jagadish was being produced before the magistrate. "I don’t think any law-abiding people would behave like that. They obstructed our police in discharging their duty,’’ he said.

Besides, Justice Hegde said there were spies keeping an eye on the Lokayukta office. "Whenever someone approached our office, Katta’s family would know about it. The complainants would receive threats. They even knew about Ramanjinappa visiting the Lokayukta office and filing his statement. Most of the villagers were scared of becoming witnesses in the case. Now, they may come forward,’’ he said.

Suspension Of BBMP Membership

Answering a question if Katta Jagadish was to be suspended from BBMP membership, Justice Hegde said the parameter which applies to Ganesh Mandir ward corporator L Govindaraju applies to Jagadish also. "Article 14 applies in both cases,’’ he quipped.