Bangalore: In a major development, the Lokayukta Special Court has convicted BJP MLA Y Sampangi in a bribery case. Sampangi will now have to spend the next three and a half years in prison. The tainted MLA has been lodged in Bangalore Central Jail.

Delivering the judgment, Lokayukta Special Court Judge NK Sudhindra Rao also imposed a penalty of Rs one lakh on Sampangi.

Sampangi was caught at his residence in January 2009 while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakhs, based on information by an entrepreneur. Sampangi was booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.