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Now, complaint filed against K’taka min in MUDA land fraud case
The case pertains to allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife by MUDA in lieu of a land parcel in Kesare.
Bengaluru: A police complaint has been lodged against Karnataka urban development minister Byrathi Suresh for allegedly shifting crucial files and documents related to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment case involving chief minister Siddaramaiah, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The complaint lodged by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna before director general of police (DGP) Alok Mohan also accused former Lokayukta superintendent of police (SP) in Mysuru, Sujeeth, of conniving with Suresh in shifting the files related to MUDA issue in July this year, officials said.
In his complaint, a copy of which he sent to the DGP on Sunday, activist Krishna has alleged that Sujeeth alerted minister Suresh about a raid at MUDA office scheduled on July 26 in connection with land allotment irregularities. On receiving the alert, Krishna has alleged, the minister flew to Mysuru in a helicopter and took away the crucial files and documents related to the alleged scam.
“Since the minister had taken the files, I fear he could have destroyed the evidence. This needs to be investigated,” the activist, who is also the complainant in the first information report (FIR) registered by the Lokayukta police against Siddaramaiah and others in MUDA land allotment, told reporters. He claimed that the documents allegedly removed by Suresh were used in a press conference led by Siddaramaiah at Vidhana Soudha.
Krishna further alleged that Sujeeth received a “lucrative posting” in Bengaluru as a “reward for his cooperation” with Suresh. “In the interest of equity and justice, the police must act against the minister and the former Mysuru Lokayukta SP for conspiring with Byrathi Suresh. If the police do not act and show favouritism, I will approach the court to seek a fair investigation and ensure that the guilty are punished,” Krishna added.
Last week, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) booked Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathi BM and some others in a money laundering case linked to the MUDA land allotment issue, taking cognisance of the Lokayukta FIR, which came following a court order.
The case pertains to allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife by MUDA in lieu of a land parcel in Kesare. While the chief minister has claimed that the land parcel was gifted to his wife by her brother Mallikarjuna in 1998, activist Krishna has alleged that the land was actually acquired illegally by Mallikarjuna in 2004, using forged documents with the help of government officials. The activist further claims that Parvathi sought compensation for the land in 2014, during Siddaramaiah’s first term as chief minister (2013 to 2018).
Soon after ED filed the case under PMLA, Siddaramaiah’s wife announced that she would return the 14 controversial land sites to MUDA. On October 1, the Mysuru authority took back the 14 plots allotted to Parvathi.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president BY Vijayendra continued his attack on the chief minister, accusing him of indulging in corruption.
“We are demanding a transparent investigation in MUDA scam. Siddaramaiah government is mired in corruption and has created anarchy in the state,” Vijayendra, who met senior Congress leader and state’s PWD minister Satish Jarkiholi on Monday, told reporters.
Stressing that it has been proven that misdeeds were done, the state BJP chief alleged: “Many of their (Congress) leaders are meeting the high command, (Congress president) Mallikarjun Kharge…The government can fall at any moment.”
Jarkiholi dismissed the BJP leader’s claim that the state government will collapse. “Siddaramaiah will continue as the chief minister. There is no question of his resignation, the BJP keeps on making blames that our government will collapse. There is no such chance of this,” he told reporters.
