NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday filed a money-laundering case in opposition to Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, linked to the Mysuru City Growth Authority (MUDA). The ED’s motion is available in response to a state Lokayukta FIR, registered final week, that accuses the CM and others of irregularities within the allotment of land by the authority.
Siddaramaiah’s spouse BM Parvathi, his brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, and Devaraju, the person from whom Swamy bought land earlier than gifting it to Parvathi, are additionally named within the FIR.The case, filed by the Lokayukta police on September 27, was ordered by a Bengaluru particular court docket. The court docket’s choice got here a day after the Karnataka Excessive Courtroom upheld Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s sanction to research Siddaramaiah over the allegations.
The ED has registered an Enforcement Case Info Report (ECIR), just like a police FIR, beneath the Prevention of Cash Laundering Act (PMLA). This permits the company to summon the accused for questioning and probably seize their belongings in the course of the investigation.
Siddaramaiah, 76, has denied any wrongdoing. Final week, he mentioned the case was politically motivated, alleging that the opposition was “scared” of him. He emphasised, “That is the primary such political case in opposition to me,” including that he has no intention of resigning and plans to struggle the case legally.
The controversy revolves round accusations that compensatory plots had been allotted to Siddaramaiah’s spouse in an upscale Mysuru space. The property is allegedly extra worthwhile than the land MUDA initially acquired from her.
The Lokayukta FIR has been registered beneath numerous sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) like 120B (legal conspiracy), 166 (public servant disobeying legislation, with intent to trigger harm to any particular person), 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 406 (legal breach of belief), 420 (dishonest and dishonestly inducing supply of property), 426 (mischief), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for goal of dishonest), 340 (wrongful confinement) and 351 (assault).
