Congress MP Dharam Singh and JDS MP HD Kumaraswamy have also been accused in the illegal mining case.
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Bangalore: An FIR has been registered against External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, Congress MP Dharam Singh and Janata Dal (Secular) MP HD Kumaraswamy in the illegal mining case. The FIR has been filed in relation to private complaint filed against them by one TJ Abraham in the Karnataka Lokayukta court.
Krishna later issued a statement saying, "There is no indictment of me anywhere in the Lokayukta report. The fact that Justice Santosh Hegde has gone on record in public only further confirms this. There has been no de-reservation of forests as being incorrectly reported. I wish to point out that I never retained the portfolio of mines and geology. Further to the best of my knowledge no mining licence issued during my tenure. Even if such licences were issued this would have been done by the competent authority of the mines and geology department. In view of the above there is no wrongful loss to the government, consequently there can be no wrongful gain."
Lokayukta court had said on Saturday that this complaint needs investigation by Lokayukta police. The complaint is based on former Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde's report on illegal mining.
The FIR names Krishna, Dharam Singh and Kumaraswamy for their alleged roles during their terms as Karnataka chief minister.
The FIR also names 11 others including four Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and one retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer.
The offences have been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Forest Conservation Act, Karnataka Forest Act, Mines and Minerals Regulation Act, Indian Penal Code Sections 204, 405, 406, 463, 465, 468, 471 and 423.
A special team headed by Lokayukta SP Jagadish Prasad to investigate the allegations has been formed. The next date of hearing is January 6, 2012.