Fresh corruption allegations against Siddaramaiah

BENGALURU: Fresh allegations of corruption have surfaced against Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah over a Hublot watch that he used to sport.

A former deputy superintendent of police Anupama Shenoy, who quit the force after making allegations against a former minister in the Siddaramaiah ministry, alleged that the expensive watch was a bribe given to the CM for favoring the BR Shetty grouping two projects "by throwing all norms to the winds." She has made the allegations in a letter to Legislative Assembly Speaker KB Koliwad, who is purportedly the current custodian of the watch which Siddaramaiah handed over to his predecessor last year.

Shenoy has sought to know where the watch currently is and whether it has been displayed in the cabinet hall, as promised by Siddaramaiah. "That watch is the sole evidence of corruption by the CM and must be well guarded," she has said,

Siddaramaiah had stated that the watch was a personal gift from his close friend Dr Ganesh Chandra Verma. Shenoy said Verma was a consultant in the Shetty Group's hospital in Dubai and was used to deliver the watch as a bribe. BR Shetty, speaking in Mangaluru, said Verma was a consultant and not tied to his hospital. He denied the bribe allegation and said he had undertaken both government projects- a hospital in Udupi and the development of Jog Falls - on a charitable basis and for personal reasons, not profit.

The CMO has responded saying there is no truth in the allegations and that the watch has been displayed in the cabinet hall as announced by Siddaramaiah.