Madal Virupakshappa said he was "100 per cent confident" that he will be acquitted.
Karnataka BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa, whose bail in a corruption case was recently cancelled, was arrested today in a bribery case involving the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd where he was the chairman. The BJP MLA was arrested near Kyathsandra toll booth near Tumakuru Road by the Lokayukta police on basis of a tip-off. Sources said he was travelling from Channagiri in Davangere district to Bengaluru.
Madal Virupakshappa was named as the prime accused in the case after his son, Prashanth Madal, was caught allegedly accepting a Rs 40 lakh bribe, allegedly on his behalf, last month.
The bribe was to meant to secure a tender to supply raw materials to Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd, said the Lokayukta police, which was investigating the case.
In the raid that followed, unaccounted cash worth Rs 8 crore was seized from his house. The Channagiri MLA had claimed that it was proceeds from the sale of arecanut (supari).
Shortly after, Mr Virupakshappa stepped down from the chairman post.
Earlier this month, the MLA got a hero's welcome at his home town in Davangere when he surfaced after getting anticipatory bail. But the bail was challenged in the top court, which asked him to appear and defend it.
The MLA has denied wrongdoing and said he was being framed by his political rivals. He also claimed that his son, who was caught red -handed acting bribe, was innocent. Someone had planted the money in his son's office, the MLA claimed.
Prashanth Madal is a Karnataka Administrative Services officer and is the chief accounts officer of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board.
"I am 100 percent confident that I will be acquitted in the case. The source of money seized from my house is not corruption. The money is from agriculture and other legitimate businesses run by the family," Madal Virupakshappa had told the media.