MYSURU: An FIR was registered against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the controversial Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land case here on Friday.
The FIR, registered under Case Number 11/2024, has listed Siddaramaiah as the first accused (A1), his wife BN Parvathi as Accused 2 (A2), his relative Mallikarjuna Swamy as Accused 3 (A3) and an individual named Devaraju, involved in the land transaction, as Accused 4 (A4) and others as accused 5. The FIR was registered by the Mysuru Lokayukta police following two days of high drama as the initial delay in filing the FIR sparked outrage.
The complainant, Snehamayi Krishna, had alleged negligence by the Lokayukta, saying it delayed filing the FIR despite the special court directing the anti-corruption agency to investigate the case and submit a report within three months.
Krishna’s complaint had alleged irregularities in MUDA allotting alternative plots to Siddaramaiah’s wife after it acquired her land of over three acres at Kesare in Mysuru. The complaint had gone on to implicate the chief minister and his family members. Mallikarjuna Swamy is Parvathi’s brother, who had gifted the three acres of land to her.
According to the FIR, the Lokayukta police have booked cases under Sections 120 B, 166, 403, 406, 420, 426, 465, 468, 340 and 351 of IPC, Sections 9 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Sections 3, 53 and 54 of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 and Section 3 and 4 of the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011.
He expressed determination to fight the case till justice is served. “In history, this is the first time such a case has been registered against a sitting CM. We won’t stop until the matter reaches its logical conclusion,” he said.
Meanwhile, when asked whether the CM will be questioned or arrested following the registration of the FIR, a Lokayukta higher official said it is too early to comment on this as the FIR has just been registered and the investigation is yet to start. “We have followed the court order and registered the FIR under the relevant Sections mentioned in the order. We have been given three months to investigate and submit a report. It is too early to comment,” the official said.
Congress has to move on, says Kharge
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge said in Bengaluru on Friday that Congress will have to move on irrespective of Siddaramaiah being the chief minister. But he went on to allege that BJP is targeting the CM with the intention to damage Congress. Defending the CM, Kharge said Siddaramaiah need not resign in the case as no charges have been proved against him as yet in the MUDA case.
Activist moves HC, seeks CBI probe
Social worker Snehamayi Krishna, one of the complainants in the MUDA site allotment case against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others, approached the Karnataka High Court on Friday, seeking directives to transfer the case from the Lokayukta police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for “an independent, fair, transparent and impartial investigation.”
Lokayuktha police question HD Kumaraswamy
Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy on Friday appeared before the Karnataka Lokayukta police in connection with a land denotification case. The state JDS president alleged that the case was foisted falsely against him when Siddaramaiah was the CM in 2015. Kumaraswamy contended that he has done no wrong when he was in power and he is not afraid of any investigation.
