Minister Sudhakar in the eye of a storm after atrocity case filed against him

BENGALURU: Planning and Statistics Minister D Sudhakar has been caught in the centre of a controversy after a case under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was filed against him for allegedly trespassing and forcibly evicting a family from their property on Survey No. 108/1 in Yelahanka.

Subbamma, the complainant, has alleged that Seven Hills Promoters and Traders, linked to minister Sudhakar, had sent rowdy elements who assaulted her family members and abused them in the name of caste. They also illegally demolished sheds on the property, she alleged in her complaint to the Yelahanka police.

The property where sheds were demolished last Saturday.

At Vidhana Soudha, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, reacting to the development, said, “I will call him and speak to him. Even though he is a minister, a case has been registered against him. I will speak to Sudhakar and get details”.

After the case was registered against him, Sudhakar met the CM at Shakti Bhavan on Monday evening and explained the situation. The minister has also been asked by the assistant commissioner of police probing the case to submit all relevant documents.

Complainant Subbamma’s son Aravind and another relative alleged that JCBs were brought on Saturday to pull down the tin sheds.

Meanwhile, a video of minister Sudhakar threatening Subbamma’s family members also started doing the rounds on Tuesday. The incident is said to have occurred before the case was registered against him.

In the video, Sudhakar can be heard saying, “…Yelahanka is not new to me…I have gone all around Karnataka and Andhra holding a machete…it’s 50-60 years now…it’s not new to me…when we invest money, we are ready for everything, we are not dumb…”

In another video, Sudhakar is also seen abusing Brahmins. “You know why we fear Brahmins…what you tie with a rope, those ***** tie with the sacred thread… What you tie with a chain…they they will hang you with it…”

However, defended himself saying he does not know when the incidents occurred. “This is a conspiracy hatched against me because I am a minister. I have purchased that property through our company through legal means. It has been eight years since I met Subbamma. Earlier, she used to come to my office daily. In this digital age, someone had edited the time and what I had spoken and released a video”, he claimed.

“I have not threatened anyone and the land deal was done legally through the firm in which I am just a director. All this is a lie, I have not been to those parts in years”. Responding to the BJP for his resignation, he said, “Nobody is above the law and will have to undergo punishment if they have done any wrong”.

Further, the minister said the property issue is subjudice and chose not to speak much about it. “I am not anti-Dalit, all that is a lie. All this is being done to use it against me politically. I have done no wrong and I am not worried. I will take up a legal battle against those behind this”, he added.