NEW DELHI: Lokayukta Police on Wednesday said there was no evidence against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, his wife and others in the MUDA case, reported news agency PTI.
The admission by the Lokayuta Police comes almost a week after the agency submitted a final report to its headquarters in Bengaluru for scrutiny.
The report was submitted after an extensive 138-day investigation into the Mysore Urban Development Authority (Muda) site allotment case involving CM Siddaramaiah and his family.
The Lokayukta investigation, launched in September 2024 following a directive from a special court for elected representatives in Bengaluru, was led by Mysuru Lokayukta superintendent of police TJ Udesh.
Sleuths had questioned over 100 people, including bureaucrats, politicians, retired officers, Muda officials, and key figures such as Siddaramaiah, his wife BM Parvathi and brother-in-law BM Mallikarjuna Swamy. Their statements were video-recorded and documented in the final report.
“In all, more than 3,000 pages of documents related to the disputed property, site allotments, and notification processes were perused,” sources had told TOI.
The special court had directed an FIR against Siddaramaiah and three others on September 27 last year, based on a petition by social activist Snehamayi Krishna after governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot gave the nod for Siddaramaiah to be investigated. The Karnataka high court upheld the governor’s decision.
The investigation covers alleged violations under IPC, Prevention of Corruption Act, Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, and Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act.
Muda scam controversy
The controversy revolves around the alleged irregularities in the allotment of compensatory sites. At the heart of the scam is a 3.2-acre parcel of land that was gifted to the chief minister’s wife, Parvathi, by her brother Mallikarjunaswamy in 2010.
Following the acquisition of the land by Muda, Parvathi sought compensation and was subsequently allocated 14 plots.
These plots are said to be substantially more valuable than the original piece of land. The opposition parties claim that the total value of the scam could potentially fall within the range of Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 4,000 crore.
