A lawyer drove into the Vidhana Soudha on Friday with a huge stash of currency notes in his boot.
Siddhartha H M, 40, was whisked away for questioning when police found him unable to explain the cash.
Son of retired civil judge H M Bharatesh, Siddhartha is the son-in-law of Police Complaints Authority Chairperson A S Pacchhapure. As a lawyer, he represents former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa in his land denotification cases.
Siddhartha was stopped by security guards at the West Gate of the Vidhana Soudha at 1.45 pm. “He was wearing a black robe. We routinely asked him to open the boot. He was hesitant and his body language was not normal. That’s when we grew suspicious,” a guard told DH.
The security staff then alerted their higher-ups. The Vidhana Soudha police rushed to the gate and found three bags in the boot. They opened one and found it filled with cash.
The police then got Siddhartha to open the other bags, and found them similarly stuffed with currency notes. “He had no convincing explanation, and failed to produce any documents. We had to take him in for questioning,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (West) KSR Charan Reddy.
Police have registered a case under CrPC 102 (which provides for the confiscation of property found under circumstances suggesting a crime). They said they would also write to the income tax authorities about the haul.
Published 21 October 2016, 21:47 IST