CBI teams conducted simultaneous raids on the residences of former Chief Minister B.S.Yeddyurappa in Dollars Colony and Race Course Road at 6.30 am Wednesday. The teams led by IGP, Hyderabad V.V. Lakshminarayana, DIG Bengaluru R Hitendra and additional SP Das and Subramaneshwara Rao ploughed through the documents at both houses and took mahazar of the relevant ones.
The CBI officers blocked the main gate of Mr Yeddyurappa's Race Course road residence and did not allow visitors inside for the duration of the raid which went on till late in the afternoon. Mr Yeddyurappa’s house, ‘Maitri Nivas’ in Vinoba Nagar, Shimoga too was raided early morning. Sources said the former Chief Minister cooperated fully with the CBI officials in their searches.
CBI sleuths also searched the house of his son-in-law, Sohan Kumar in Bengaluru, of his daughter, Aruna Devi in Shimoga and a farmhouse in his assembly constituency of Shikaripura. Ms Devi’s husband, Uday Kumar reportedly produced all documents asked for and took CBI officers, at their request to inspect the lockers he had in Syndicate Bank and State Bank of Mysore.
Other teams raided the home of Mr Yeddyurappa's former cabinet colleague, S Krishnaiah Setty in Rajajinagar, the office of Dhavalagiri Property Developers in Sanjaya Nagar, the offices of Prerana Trust and Bhagath Homes Pvt Ltd in Prerana Chambers, Seshadripuram, businessman Praveen Chandra’s home in Srinagara, and JSW Steel's offices in Bellary.
Probe may expand into assets case
With the CBI raids on the houses and offices of Mr B.S. Yeddyurappa and his kin, the CBI investigation is likely to expand into a disproportionate assets case against the former CM. The searches at the Dollar’s Colony house and the residence in Shimoga have reportedly resulted in recovery of incriminating documents.
It may be recalled that the NGO Samaja Parivartana Samudaya (SPS) had submitted to the CEC 113 pages of key documents unearthed by National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR) as additional instances. These documents also included details about properties and investments of Mr Yeddyurappa and his family between February 2006 and October 2007 (as Deputy CM) and from July 2008 to March 2011 (as CM).
The SPS had alleged that the source of funds for the acquisitions of assets by Mr Yeddyurappa and his family was through illegal transactions, income tax evasion and money laundering. These assets were estimated at around Rs 339.58 crore while its market value was estimated at Rs 571 crore. The documents also included a 68-page note on money laundering, income tax evasion by Mr Yeddyurappa and family to the tune of Rs 339.54 crore.
On the other hand, searches at Prerana Trust and Bhagath Homes Ltd also revealed investments made, other than the ones referred to in the case. It was alleged that companies of Jindal group (JSW) made Rs 40 crore payments to Mr Yeddyurappa’s kith and kin. Three donors to Prerana – Industrial Techno Man Power Supply and Services Pvt Ltd (Rs 3.4 crore), Jai Bharat Technical Services Pvt Ltd (Rs 3.40 crore) and Real Technical Solutions Pvt Ltd (Rs 3.20 crore) were all allied firms of JSW, the petition by SPS alleged. The names of these firms are reflected in the annual report of Prerana Trust.