Investigation ordered against BS Yeddyurappa in land denotification case

Former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa found himself entangled in yet another case when the  Lok Ayukta special court on Tuesday ordered the  Lok Ayukta police to probe into a private complaint alleging him of allegedly denotifying land to favour housing minister V Somanna and others.

The  Lok Ayukta police have been directed to file the investigation report on the private complaint filed by software engineer Krishna Reddy, on December 26. The case was filed last week.
Justice NK Sudhindra Rao directed the  Lok Ayukta superintendent of police, Bangalore Urban district, to conduct the investigation under Section 156(3).

In his complaint, Reddy alleged that Yeddyurappa, during his tenure as the chief minister, misused his power to secure undue advantage for his aides, including Somanna and other staunch supporters.

The complaint states that Yeddyurappa had illegally denotified BDA land acquired to form Jnanabharathi Layout in Bangalore to favour his supporters. Yeddyurappa has been alleged to have flouted all the norms to benefit Somanna.

The complaint further alleged that Somanna floated VSS Educational Trust in Vijayanagar in October 2010 to cover up his ill-gotten wealth. Reddy alleged that formation of the trust was to avail of certain benefits.

Somanna and his wife Shylaja are the first and second trustees, respectively.