Katta's bail plea rejected

The prosecution argued that if released, he could hamper the investigation

The prosecution argued that if released, he could hamper the investigation

In a fresh development today, the court rejected the bail of tainted corporator Katta Jagadish, the prime accused in the KIADB (Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board) scam.

No bail: Investigators arrested Katta, a corporator and son of IT minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, while he was offering bribe to a witness in a corruption case against him. File pic

Investigations revealed that he was not only trying to offer a bribe of Rs 1 lakh to the prime witness in the case, but also tried to make contact with a senior investigating officer preferably outside the office, so that he could turn the entire case in his favour.

"I know the officer (name withheld on request) is very strict, but somehow I want to talk to him ", Jagadish reportedly told the eyewitness during a one-hour conversation before directing his crony to hand over the money to him.

The conversation which was being recorded by the Lokayukta through a mobile phone and a hidden camera came handy for the prosecutor to successfully argue for the cancellation of his bail.

Arguing further against the plea, Special Public Prosecutor IS Pramod Chandra said that since the accused has already gone to the extent of paying bribe to theu00a0 witness and wanted to contact the investigating officer, his bail would further hamper the investigations.

Ironically, Jagadish's counsel Gajendra Naidu even argued that Lokayukta couldn't book a case under Prevention of Corruption Act, since he does not come under public servant category.

Naidu further argued that when arrested, Jagadish was not acting as a corporator, but as a businessman. He also argued that the case is politically motivated.

The prosecutor however reiterated that the Lokayukta officials need more time to investigate, and Jagadish could hamper further investigations if he gets a bail.

Considering the magnitude of the case, Judge Chandrashekhar B Hipparagi rejected the bail plea and posted the hearing to October 12.