Karnataka Congress MLA Santosh Lad Detained at Mumbai Airport in Cheating Case

Mumbai, Jun 24 (PTI) : A Congress MLA from Karnataka was on Thursday detained by the immigration officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here following a look out circular issued against him by the Delhi police in connection with a cheating case. 

Santosh Lad, a mine owner representing Kalaghatgi Assembly constituency in Dharwad, was detained in the morning while on way to Dubai, police said.

The Delhi police had issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) in Lad's name after a real estate company operating in the national capital region had filed a case of cheating against him. Soon after he was detained, immigration officials informed the Mumbai and Delhi police. The Delhi police are expected to come here and take Lad in custody, city police officials said.

According to the police, Lad told immigration authorities that he was aware of the case against him in Delhi and maintained that he was in regular touch with the investigating officer. However, immigration authorities refused to let him go. 

Who’s this Lad?

Santosh Lad shot into prominence when he got elected as an MLA from Bellary district on a Janata Dal(S) ticket in 2004.

He penetrated into H D Kumaraswamy’s first circle and played a major role in the downfall of the Dharam Singh-led Congress-JD(S) government. This paved the way for the installation of Kumaraswamy as chief minister, with help from the BJP. While he was a JD(S) MLA, his elder brother, Anil Lad, now a Rajya Sabha member from the Congress, was a BJP MLA.

The brothers are considered key architects of the Janata Dal(S) and BJP coalition in which Kumaraswamy became chief minister and B S Yeddyurappa his deputy.

Differences appeared between Kumaraswamy and the ambitious Reddys when they saw that the Lads were calling the shots in the mining business.

After this coalition government crashed and the state went to the polls, the brothers ditched their respective parties and joined the Congress. Santosh Lad got elected to the state assembly from Kalghatagi and Anil Lad became a Rajya Sabha member.

Santhosh is famous for doling out freebies to voters at election time. He also gets mass marriage melas conducted in his backward constituency.

Former union minister and Congress big wig Oscar Fernandes and several Bollywood film stars attend these melas.