Karnataka high court orders notice to CM Siddaramaiah’s wife in MUDA scam case

BENGALURU; The Karnataka High Court has ordered to issue notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife B M Parvathi in connection with the alleged illegal site allocation scam in MUDA. The High Court division bench has adjourned further hearing to September 4.

The High Court division bench on Thursday heard the appeal filed by CM Siddaramaiah challenging the Governor’s permission for investigation into the MUDA scam. In the meantime, it was ordered to issue a notice to Siddaramaiah’s wife in the wake of the non-issuance of the notice.

On June 10, the Enforcement Directorate, Bangalore Zonal Office, provisionally attached 92 immovable properties (MUDA sites) having a market value of Rs 100 crore (approx.) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

As per the release, the attached properties are registered in the name of entities such as housing cooperative societies and individuals who are fronts or dummies for influential persons, including MUDA officials.

The ED investigation revealed a large-scale scam in allotment of MUDA sites by flouting various statutes and government orders/ guidelines and by other fraudulent means. The role of ex-MUDA commissioners, has emerged as instrumental in the illegal allotment of compensation sites to ineligible entities/individuals.

The evidence with respect to obtaining alleged bribes for making illegal allotments in the form of cash, bank transfer, movable/ immovable properties has been gathered during the course of the investigation.

The modus operandi for making illegal allotment involved identification of ineligible beneficiaries and making allotment using fake documents/incomplete documents in direct violation of government orders and also back dating of allotment letters in some cases.

The gratification received for making these illegal allotments was routed through a co-operative society and bank accounts of the relatives/associates of the officers playing a key role in the allotment process. The gratification thus received was further used to purchase some of these illegally allotted MUDA sites in the name of relatives of MUDA officers. (ANI)