FIR against 8 MLCs for submitting fake reimbursement bills

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against eight Members of Legislative Councils (MLCs) of Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) in the Vidhana Soudha police station on Wednesday for allegedly submitting fake reimbursement bills in the 2016 Bengaluru Mayor polls.

The MLCs allegedly submitted the bills for reimbursement from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

The action was taken following a complaint filed by J.H. Ramanna from Raichur. Subsequently the Vidhana Soudha Special Court on Wednesday initiated action to file FIR against the MLCs. All the eight have been booked under Sections 177, 420, 149 of the Indian Penal Code and also under People Representative Act.

BBMP Opposition leader Padmanabha Reddy of the Bharatiya Janata Party said: "I had also filed a complaint against these irregularities of the eight MLCs to the BBMP Commissioner and with the Election Commission because I knew these people were not residents of Bengaluru but were voting and looting public money. Now court has asked to file an FIR against them. It is a welcome move."

The MLCs, who are allegedly involved in the racket, include R.B. Timmapur, Allum Veerabhadrappa, Raghu Achar, N.S. Bose Raju and Ravi of the Congress and CR Manohar, Appaji Gowda of the Janata Dal (Secular) along with M. M. D. Lakshminarayana, an Independent MLC.

"This was much needed because Congress and JD(S) MLCs are the ones indulging in irregularities and claiming public money," said a BJP leader R. Ashok.

In 2017, BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad had also submitted a report to the Chief Electoral Officer stating that the eight MLCs were allegedly found guilty of giving false addresses in order to be included in the electoral process for the August 2016 Mayor polls.

The Election Commission had initiated action based on the complaint filed by Padmanabha Reddy who was seeking disqualification of all these MLCs.