Maadal Virupakshappa moves City Civil Court seeking gag order on ‘defamatory’ media reports

Bengaluru: Karnataka Lokayukta has formed seven teams headed by Deputy Superi-ntendents to track and arrest BJP MLA Maadal Virupakshappa, who is the prime accused in the recent bribery scandal. Sources said that the teams have already begun tracking and search operations across the State and beyond.

Latest reports from Bengaluru said this morning that the MLA has approached the Karnataka High Court seeking anticipatory bail.

Appearing on behalf of the MLA, his advocate urged the Court for an ‘urgent hearing’. Hearing the plea, Justice K. Natarajan posted the hearing  to tomorrow.

Lokayukta sources also said that the teams have launched a hunt in various locations of Bengaluru and Davanagere. At the same time, they have also prepared to issue him a notice of inquiry to appear before the Lokayukta Police.

The notice will be sent to the accused BJP MLA’s residences in Bengaluru, Davanagere, Legislatures’ House and office of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL). MLA Virupakshappa was the Chairman of KSDL and he resigned from the post following the trap incident.

The Lokayukta sleuths are also probing the source of more than Rs. 6 crore cash found at the residence of his son Prashanth Madal and Rs. 2 crore at the private office. Prashanth Madal, the son of MLA Virupakshappa, was caught red-handed while accepting Rs. 40 lakh cash allegedly towards allotment of a tender for procuring raw materials for KSDL on behalf of his father. Prashanth Madal has been arrested and presently is in judicial custody.

Meanwhile, Madal Viru-pakshappa has moved a City Civil Court in Bengaluru for a temporary injunction against defamatory media reporting in the alleged corruption case. He moved the Court on Saturday for a media gag order in a case against 46 media outlets. The Civil Court will pronounce its orders in the matter on Mar. 6 (today).

Virupakshappa has sought a media gag order under Order 7, Rules 1 and 2, read with section 26 of the Civil Procedure Code.