Land grab: Baig gets Lokayukta breather

The Lokayukta police, in their report submitted to the special court, have stated that they have not found any evidence against Information Minister R Roshan Baig, accused of land grabbing and possession of illegal wealth.

Lokayukta Deputy Superintendent of Police Palakshiah, who probed into the private complaint by Abdul Haq Surathi, a resident of Shivajinagar, stated in his report that there is no evidence to prove the allegation against the minister in question.

Surathi, in his complaint, had alleged that using his clout Baig had obtained one-acre plot at Begur, to set up a software firm, from Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS). But before registration, he entered into an agreement with a real estate firm and constructed a commercial complex there.

The Lokayukta police, in their report, said that Baig had applied for the land before he was elected as an MLA and the land was allocated after he lost the elections. “There is no proof to say that he misused his power at this juncture,” the report says.

Investigations revealed that the land meant for the software firm had been utilised for commercial purpose and the terms and conditions imposed by KEONICS had been violated, “but the same do not come under the Prevention of Corruption Act,” the report says.

The complainant had said that the family members of Baig were indulging in corruption through Danish Publications, in which they are shareholders. He had alleged that several people who do not have a proper source of income, had donated crores of rupees to the firm. But the Lokayukta police report states that there is no evidence to prove it.