Bengaluru: Even as the Opposition BJP and the JD(S) continue to target the ruling Congress Government in the State over rampant corruption, K.R. Pet JD(S) MLA H.T. Manju has dropped a bombshell alleging a Rs.1,000 crore mega scam in Bengaluru-based KSDL (Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited).
Addressing a press meet at Vidhana Soudha here yesterday, Manju alleged that a Rs.1,000 scam involving purchase of Sandalwood Oil had taken place at KSDL. Maintaining that he accessed to a 800-page report, he said that the report has recorded only 9 of the many tenders. Though he had written to the Chief Minister, the concerned Minister and the State Chief Secretary drawing their attention to the scam, he has not received any reply so far, he contended.
“The tender for supplying Sandalwood Oil has been awarded to Karnataka Aromas, which is a blacklisted company. This company has not followed any norms laid out in the tender. Though the company claims that it is importing Sandalwood Oil, the fact is that it is buying the oil locally without paying any GST. The KSDL had purchased the oil at a whopping Rs. 2.24 lakh a kg, which he had informed to the authorities through a letter in May 2025. After his letter, the authorities are buying oil at Rs. 93,000 a kg,” he said while questioning why was the oil purchased earlier at a whopping rate, which smells a mega scam.
