Katta is unrecognisable in court
Sitting unobtrusively in a corner of the Special Lokayukta Court on Saturday, former minister Katta Subramanya Naidu was a shell of his former self, without his trademark white cap.
Looking haggard and visibly ill, sporting a long white beard and a skull cap, Katta drew very few glances as most of the people could not recognise him.
The former minister is the main accused in the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board land scam. While his son Katta Jagadish and Itasca Managing Director S V Srinivas were standing in the witness box, Katta sat on a bench next to that, hardly raising his head.
Katta, who has had a relapse of the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer, has been granted temporary bail for three months to seek treatment of the disease. The temporary bail conditions set by the High Court require him to be present for the hearings at the trial court.
Katta has been given the liberty to seek treatment in a London hospital, where he had received treatment earlier, as long as he applied for permission in the trial court. However, Katta has not filed an application seeking permission to travel abroad yet.
Katta Subramanya is also learnt to be experiencing difficulty in speaking and has not been seen in public, lately.
Documents submitted in the court reveal that Katta has sought treatment in Sushrut Hospital in Mumbai. Katta is said to have visited the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi and returned to Bangalore a week ago.
Sources close to the family said Katta also met his counsel this week. Apart from seeking treatment from an oncologist in Bangalore, Katta, who is learnt to be suffering from depression, is also seeking the services of a psychiatrist.
