BENGALURU: The Lokayukta police probing the MUDA site allotment case on Wednesday said the charges against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his wife Parvathi could not be proved for want of evidence.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, R Ashoka, addressing mediapersons, said the Lokayukta report giving clean chit to Siddaramaiah was on the expected lines, while the petitioner in the case, activist Snehamayi Krishna, said: “Only those officials who have sold their conscience can give such a report.”
The probing officers said they had submitted the final report to the high court.
“Since the above allegations against accused-1 to accused-4 in the case have not been proven due to lack of evidence, the final report is being submitted to the high court,” the Lokayukta police said in a letter to Krishna.
Besides Siddaramaiah and his wife, his brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy and the land owner Devaraju are the accused. The police said further investigation will be conducted into the allegations of Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) providing compensatory plots in the ratio of 50:50 from 2016 to 2024 and an additional final report will be submitted to the High Court under Section 173 (8) CrPC.
In the MUDA site allotment case, it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah’s wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been “acquired” by the MUDA.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it developed a residential layout. Under the scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts.
It is alleged Parvathi had no legal title over this 3.16 acres of land at survey number 464 of Kasare village, Kasaba hobli of Mysuru taluk.
The Lokayukta as well as the ED are probing the matter. Reacting to the report, Krishna said, “The Lokayukta officials, who were ready to submit the report, which the entire country had been waiting for, have given me a notice. It seems that there is a lack of evidence for the allegations I have made.”