In a troubling sign for the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has named him and his family members in the MUDA land scam worth around Rs 56 crore. As per reports, the probing agency has also named officials of the civic body over irregularities of site allotments to the Chief Minister’s family members.
During the investigation, large-scale irregularities have been revealed so far. These irregularities include illegally de-notifying government-acquired land and fraudulent land conversion.
The land scam involved tampering records, forgery and misuse of political influence, according to the ED. This includes illegally de-notifying land that was already acquired by the civic body (MUDA) for public usage. According to the agency, the process was carried out without due diligence or review by the experts. When the alleged land scam unfolded, Siddaramaiah was the Deputy Chief Minister and a member of the MUDA board. However, reports claim that he was personally absent from the meeting where the de-notification was discussed.
As per the report, the revenue department officials falsely claimed that they conducted spot inspections and omitted MUDA’s development work on the site as well as misrepresented the presence of unauthorised constructions.
Furthermore, BM Mallikarjuna Swamy submitted an indemnity bond, a key material for the case, which didn’t have his signature. This raises suspicions that the document could be manipulated.
Other riveting findings include the illegal allotment of sites to BM Parvathi, wife of Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah. According to the investigation, 14 prime-location sites were allocated to her in violation of statutory guidelines. These sites were allegedly obtained through political influence. However, after facing mounting political pressure, she later returned the tainted land parcels after an ED investigation was launched to probe the said land transfer.
According to the report, the entire process – right from de-notification to the allotment of the land parcels – was hatched to acquire pricey land parcels.
The probing agency has also highlighted the role of Yathindra who is the son of Karnataka CM and Congress leader Siddaramaiah. He was an MLA and a MUDA board member when the alleged land scam took place.
According to media reports, the investigation has confirmed PMLA violations. The main accused named in the land scam case include Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathi, BM Mallikarjuna Swamy and J Devaraju. Additionally, some unidentified MUDA officials, real estate businessmen, and influential figures have also been named.
According to the ED, while Parvathi returned the scam tainted sites to the civic body on October 1, 2024, the offence of money laundering was committed under Section 3 of the PMLA.
It is alleged that the land scam involved nexus between politicians and MUDA officials. Currently, the ED is scrutinising financial transactions and possible concealment of illegally acquired assets.
