A Karnataka court on Saturday convicted ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Y. Sampangi in a corruption case and sentenced him to three and a half years in prison. Pronouncing the judgment against Sampangi in the bribery case, Judge N.K. Sudheendra Rao of the Lokayukta (ombudsman) special court also slapped a fine of `100,000 on the legislator. Sampangi was found guilty under Section 13 (1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 during the trial.
After the trial court issued the arrest warrant, the ombudsman police took Sampangi into custody and took him to the central jail on the city's outskirts. Acting on a complaint by a businessman, the Lokayukta police caught Sampangi accepting a `500,000 bribe at the legislators’ home behind Vidhana Soudha (state secretariat) in the city centre on January 29, 2009. Subsequently, a case was registered against the legislator for accepting bribe from the businessman in a land dispute case in Kolar. Sampangi represents the Kolar Gold Fields Assembly constituency. Hailing the conviction, former Lokayukta Justice (retd) N. Santosh Hegde later said he was satisfied.