BANGALORE: Close on the heels of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raids on B S Yeddyurappa and his kin, the premier investigation agency is said to have kept a close watch on 126 persons, including a few ministers in the D V Sadananda Gowda dispensation, BJP legislators, senior bureaucrats, close confidants and personal staff of the former chief minister. Apart from ministers and legislators close to Yeddyurappa, senior IAS officers in addition to officials from the revenue, urban development, industries, forest, mining and port and fisheries departments are said to be under the CBI’s scanner. Interestingly, the officials’ list includes an assistant executive engineer and two lecturers who apparently helped the former CM in alleged denotification cases. Sources said that like in the case of YSR Congress president Jagan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh, the CBI might soon conduct raids on these key individuals suspected to have either colluded or helped the former CM in the quid pro quo donations given to the family trust and business establishments of Yeddyurappa in allotting mining leases by the state government. Sources said that the CBI had already gathered enough information on all alleged illegal mining activities in Karnataka when it raided establishments of G Janardhana Reddy and was hoping to get a breakthrough sooner than later. HEGDE DEFENDS ILLEGAL MINING REPORTBangalore: On the sidelines of the Education Festival, former Lokayukta Santhosh Hegde spoke abouth the illegal mining report and said that the report was based on extensive investigation during 2000-06. “Leaders from all political parties were found to be involved in the illegal mining scandal. Not only BJP leaders but Congress leaders, JD(S) leaders were also found to be named in the illegal mining report. Former CM B S Yeddyurappa cannot blame that he was targeted. The CEC has produced selected portions from the report to the Supreme Court which has resulted in the subsequent action,” Justice Hedge added.Speaking at an event organised by Bharata Gnana Vignana Samithi to celebrate the tenth anniversary edition of its Kannada monthly ‘Teacher’ here, he said, “Corruption is rampant everywhere and man’s greed has no limit.” He said that a corrupt person can never be human.”
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