News Brief
Nishtha Anushree
Oct 01, 2024, 02:39 PM | Updated 02:39 PM IST
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The Lokayukta police began its investigation against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case by conducting a site inspection at Kesare on Tuesday (1 October).
The Lokayukta police filed a First Information Report (FIR) in the case on 27 September, where Siddaramaiah is mentioned as Accused 1 (A1) and his wife B M Parvathi as Accused 2 (A2).
The action comes a day after Parvathi offered to surrender the 14 plots. A team of Lokayukta officials, surveyors, MUDA representatives, and complainant activist Snehamayi Krishna visited survey number 464 at Kesare.
It is alleged 3.16 acres had been acquired at this place by Mallikarjuna Swamy, the Chief Minister’s brother-in-law, and later gifted to Parvathi. All individuals involved are named in the FIR.
The origins of the alleged scam date back to 2010 when Mallikarjuna Swamy, identified as Accused 3 (A3), executed a gift deed transferring the land to Parvathi, a move that the complainant claims was illegal.
Snehamayi Krishna noted that the Lokayukta investigation was progressing seriously, possibly due to his petition in the Karnataka High Court seeking to transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A special court has directed the Lokayukta to complete the investigation and submit a report within three months. T J Udesh, Superintendent of Police with the Lokayukta, is leading the investigation.
The FIR includes charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act 1988, and the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act 2011.
Nishtha Anushree is Senior Sub-editor at Swarajya. She tweets at @nishthaanushree.