Illegal mining: CBI raids Yeddyurappa, sons’ houses

The Central Bureau of Investigation searched former Karnakata chief minister B S Yeddyurappa's Dollors Collony and Race Course Road residences in Bangalore, hours after registering a first information report against Yeddyurappa, his two sons, his son in law and one other in connection with the iron ore mining scandal in the state.

A special nine-member CBI team has been formed to investigate the case, after the Supreme Court last week directed a CBI inquiry against the former chief minister for allegedly granting undue favours to firms involved in illegal mining in return for donations to a charitable trust run by his relatives.

The joint team of CBI officials from Hyderabad and Bangalore also raided the residences of Yeddyurappa's sons B Y Raghavendra, MP, and B Y Vijayendra, and his son-in-law R N Sohan Kumar as well as a firm owned by one of his sons.

The raids began at 6.15 am and would continue throughout the day, reports said.

After aggressive postures that pushed the BJP's first ever government in the south to the brink, Yeddyurappa on Monday said he had decided to quit the Bharatiya Janata Party, but was putting it off on the advice of party senior leader Arun Jaitely and others.

Yeddyurappa, who was forced to quit last year after the Lokayukta report indictment on illegal mining, is also battling a spate of cases for alleged irregularities in land de-notification.