ED files money laundering case against Siddaramaiah in MUDA land 'scam'

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a case against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam, India Today reported on Monday. The central agency took cognisance of a recent state Lokayukta FIR against Siddaramaiah. 

The chief minister, his wife BM Parvathi, and brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy have been named in the FIR registered by the Mysuru-based Lokayukta police on September 27. The agency has also named Devaraju -- from whom Swamy had purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi.

The FIR was lodged after a special court in Bengaluru last week ordered a Lokayukta police probe against Siddaramaiah in the case. The order of the special court judge came a day after the high court upheld the sanction granted by the Governor to conduct an investigation against Siddarmaiah on charges of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

The ED has pressed sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to book Siddaramaiah in its ECIR, the equivalent of a police FIR. According to the procedure, the ED is empowered to summon the accused for questioning and even attach their assets during the investigation.

In the MUDA site-allotment case, it is alleged that compensatory sites were given to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land that was "acquired" by MUDA.

The Lokayukta FIR has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) like 120B (criminal conspiracy), 166 (public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person), 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 426 (mischief), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 340 (wrongful confinement) and 351 (assault).

(With inputs from Divyesh Singh)