KHB Scam: Five accused in Judicial custody granted bail

Mysuru: City’s Third Additional District and Sessions Court yesterday granted conditional bail to the five accused in Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) scam who were in Judicial custody. Judge Sudheendranath, who heard the bail plea petition, granted conditional bail after receiving Rs.2 lakh surety from each of the five accused. The accused, who were arrested in the scam and sent to Judicial custody are KHB Asst. Executive Engineer M.B. Somashekar, Asst. Engineer M. Mahesh and middlemen Jnaneshwar, Vijayakumar and N.B. Vasu. It may be recalled that the KHB, in a bid to form layouts, had proposed to acquire land after paying Rs.36.50 lakh per acre as compensation to land-loser farmers in Gurgral Chatra, Kallur Naganahalli and Yelachanahalli. As the land acquisition process got underway, allegations that officials and middlemen entered into Sale Deed with farmers by paying them anywhere between 8 and 18 lakh per acre in 2008-09, after securing GPA for Rs.36.50 lakh per acre cropped up. But as the middlemen had to pocket their share of money only through the bank account of the land-loser farmers, they opened fresh bank accounts for the farmers and withdraw the money by presenting cheques signed by the land-losers. Following complaints of massive irregularities by officials and middlemen in the acquisition of 81 acres of land in Yelwal hobli, the State Government then had ordered a Lokayukta probe into the alleged scam which was later transferred to ACB on Dec.18. The initial Lokayukta probe had revealed that the compensation fixed without the knowledge of the land-losers and although the KHB had fixed Rs. 36.50 lakh per acre as compensation, the price was not known to the farmers. The Lokayukta, in its report, had sought the Housing Department’s permission for prosecuting all those involved in the alleged scam.