MYSURU: In a significant development, sleuths of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) office and its Mysuru taluk office here on Friday morning.
The raid was part of ED’s investigation into a land scam involving illegal transfer and allotment of plots to some people, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi, under the 50:50 scheme for the land acquired from them for formation of residential layouts.
The ED launched its investigation after a complaint by activist Snehamayi Krishna. Its sleuths examined numerous documents and seized some important ones.
In his complaint, Krishna alleged that large-scale corruption and misuse of power had taken place in MUDA in land acquisition and allotment of sites. He also alleged that high-ranking officials were involved in the scam, which resulted in huge financial losses to the state government.
The sleuths reportedly questioned several senior MUDA officials. A source in MUDA revealed that the sleuths specifically questioned the officials about the sites allotted to Parvathi Siddaramaiah and sought original documents related to the transfer of land.
Surprise raid shocks officials
Sources said that many officials, who were shocked by the surprise raid and shaken by intense questioning, stated that they were transferred to MUDA recently. The sleuths rejected the photocopies of land documents and pressed for original ones, especially those related to the 50:50 scheme, which allegedly benefited certain individuals.
Meanwhile, a team of ED sleuths raided the Mysuru taluk office of MUDA, where they examined records related to land ownership, especially those related to the family members of Devaraju, who had sold his land to Parvathi’s brother Mallikarjuna Swamy (Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law). Tahsildar KM Mahesh Kumar was present during the raid.
ED raids Devaraj
A team of four ED sleuths raided the house of J Devaraj, fourth accused in the MUDA scam, at Kengeri in Bengaluru. The officials reportedly questioned him as he had sold 3.16 acres of land to CM’s brother-in-law, who then gifted it to CM’s wife Parvathi. The officials questioned him about the entire sale process. Devaraj’s family members were at home during the raid.
