MUDA case: Ex-commissioner DB Natesh in ED custody after being grilled over alleged land scam – Karnataka News

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday took into custody former MUDA commissioner DB Natesh after questioning him in a money laundering case in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority land scam in which Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is one of the accused.

During his tenure from 2020 to 2022, Natesh had allotted 14 sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi, who has now returned them amid the row over alleged irregularities in land allocation by MUDA.

The ED’s action came a day after the probe agency conducted fresh searches at multiple locations in Bengaluru and Mysuru as part of its money laundering probe in the MUDA case.

Earlier this month, the ED conducted the first round of raids in the case, searching the MUDA office in Mysuru and some other locations. Later, it also questioned some lower-level officials of the MUDA at its zonal office in Bengaluru.

The MUDA land allocation case involves allegations of corruption against Siddaramaiah. It is alleged that his wife, Parvathi, was allotted 14 sites in a prime location in Mysuru with a property value significantly higher than the land acquired by MUDA.

The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio in lieu of 3.16 acres of its land, where it developed a residential layout. Under the scheme, MUDA allotted 50 percent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of vacant land acquired from them for forming housing schemes. It is alleged that Parvathi had no legal title over these 3.16 hectares of land.

Siddaramaiah had denied any wrongdoing by him or his family, saying the opposition was “afraid” of him and this was the first “political case” against him.

(with inputs from PTI)