JOIN USSampangi bribery case wound up
The committee has submitted the report to the Speaker without recommending any action against the BJP MLA, accused of accepting bribe from the businessman. Bopaiah submitted the report in August this year to then Speaker Jagadish Shettar. The report is expected to be tabled in the House in the legislature session beginning from December 14.
Lokayukta police arrested MLA Y Sampangi in Legislators’ Home in Bangalore on January 29, while he was reportedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 50,000 in cash and the rest in cheque, from Farooq. The MLA allegedly demanded bribe from the businessman to favour him in connection with a police complaint filed in KGF.
The Opposition parties raised the issue in the House and demanded his suspension as MLA.
Then Speaker Shettar constituted a House committee under the leadership of deputy speaker Bopaiah to probe into the case. The committee included three BJP MLAs - Yogish Bhat, Tippeswamy, Basavaraj Patil Attur, Cong MLAs - N Y Gopalakrishna, Srinivas Prasad and JD(S) MLA H K Kumaraswamy. A member of the committee said the members met thrice and the complainant Farooq did not appear before them despite repeated summons.
No scope
“As the complainant did not come before the committee there was no scope to build up the case against the MLA. In a way the report offers relief to Sampangi”, he said.
Farooq maintained that he did not appear before the committee as he was not provided with security. “My life is under threat. Even after repeated pleas I have not been given security. My life and lives of my family members are more important for me than appearing before the committee”, he said. Farooq argued that the committee should have begun its function after suspending Sampangi as an MLA.
“It is strange that the person caught red-handed while accepting bribe enjoys freedom goes to resorts along with friends in the Legislature, but I who dared to complain against an MLA of the ruling party has to spend days in hiding”, he said.
The committee was initially given 30 days’ time to file the report. Later, the time was extended by two months. But the report was not tabled in the House which met twice since it was submitted.
‘I am facing threat to my life’
Farooq is fed up with the state government’s reported refusal to provide him security. He has made up his mind to withdraw the case if he does not get a positive response from the Chief Justice of India.
He has written to CJI Dr K G Balakrishnan complaining that he was facing threat to his life and that the State Government had not provided him security. His wife and child were living in China as there was threat to their life in Karnataka, he said. “Bringing the issue to the notice of the CJI is my last effort. If I don’t get any response, I will withdraw my case so that I can lead a peaceful life”, he said.