Yeddyurappa gets bail, to be released soon

BANGALORE: Former Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, arrested in two corruption cases, is likely to walk out of jail later Tuesday after the court granted him bail.The high court granted him bail in one case Tuesday, while he got bail in the other one Nov 3.Justice B.V. Pinto of the high court granted bail on condition that Yeddyurappa furnish a bond for Rs.500,000, two sureties for the same amount each, refrain from tampering with evidence and participate in trial court proceedings against him in the two cases.The arrested Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader will be out of Bangalore's central prison in the eastern suburb of Parappana Agrahara later Tuesday if he fulfils the bond conditions.His lawyers told reporters at the high court premises that they have asked for a copy of the bail order as that and the bonds will have to be given to the trial court.Yeddyurappa, the first BJP chief minister in south India, was sent to jail Oct 15 by the special Lokayukta (ombudsman) court judge N.K. Sudhindra Rao after rejecting his bail plea.Yeddyurappa spent only a few hours in jail on Oct 15. He was shifted to a hospital after he complained of chest pain. He spent three days in two hospitals and went back to jail Oct 19 after media and opposition parties slammed what was seen as an attempt to avoid jail stay.He is facing three more corruption and illegal land deals cases and has sought anticipatory bail in them.The five cases were filed in January this year by two Bangalore advocates Sirajin Bhasha and N.K. Balaraj after Governor H.R. Bhardwaj granted them permission to launch criminal proceedings against Yeddyurappa.He, his two sons, son-in-law, former minister S.N. Krishnaiah Shetty, BJP law maker Hemachandra Sagar and several others are accused of conspiring to free from official control government land, a process called denotification, around Bangalore in return for monetary gain.The denotification helps in many ways as the government pays low amount to acquire land.People who get back their land can sell it at market price and pay part of it to people who helped the denotification as quid-pro-quo.If politicians are interested in that piece of land, they use their clout to get it denotified and acquire it at low price brow-beating the original owners. They retain it for personal use or make money by selling it at market price.Shetty, who was arrested along with Yeddyurappa on Oct 15, was also granted bail. He is an accused in one of the two cases for which Yeddyurappa was arrested.All others accused in the five cases have got bail and were not arrested.One son of Yeddyurappa, B.Y. Raghavendra, is BJP Lok Sabha member from Shimoga, about 280 km from here.