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In a setback to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, the Lokayukta police on Thursday filed a first information report against him in connection with the illegal mining case.
FIRs have also also filed against former chief ministers Dharam Singh and Kumaraswamy in the case.
A private complaint had been filed by J Abraham in the court of Lokayukta judge N K Sudhindra Rao alleging that Krishna, Dharam Singh and Kumaraswamy had facilitated illegal mining during their tenures as chief minister.
Abraham, a city-based social activist and a businessman, had submitted that his complaint was based on the report on illegal mining presented to the government by then Lokayukta Santosh Hegde in August.
In addition to the three former chief ministers, FIRs have also been filed against 11 bureaucrats under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Forest Conservation Act, Forest Act and Minerals and Metals Regulation and Development Act (MMRDA) and the IPC.
The court had, two weeks back, directed the police to probe the matter and submit a report by January 6, pursuant to which the FIR has been filed.
With this, four former chief ministers are facing Lokayukta police probe based on private complaints. B S Yeddyurappa was released on bail last month after his arrest on a private complaint alleging irregularities in land denotification to benefit his family members.