View of Karnataka Lokayukta.
Credit: DH Photo
Mysuru: The third and fourth accused, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law, in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case were grilled for long hours by the Lokayukta Police, in Mysuru, on Thursday.
The Lokayukta Police subjected CM’s brother-in-law B M Mallikarjuna Swamy, the third accused, and J Devaraju, the fourth accused, who owned the land in question earlier, to a lengthy inquiry from morning till the night.
A team of officials, led by Lokayukta SP T J Udesh inquired J Devaraju from 11 am to 8 pm and Mallikarjuna Swamy from 11.30 am to 9 pm. The officials provided them lunch at the office itself and continued questioning. They left the Lokayukta Office on Dewan’s Road, without responding to the media.
The investigation team obtained information from Mallikarjuna Swamy regarding when the land was purchased, whether he was aware of the MUDA layout at that time, if the land was agricultural when it was purchased, when was the acquisition order issued, when was it gifted to CM’s wife B M Parvati through a gift deed, and the source of income of Swamy. They later recorded a written statement of the accused and obtained his signature.
While questioning Devaraju, the officials gathered details from the time he applied for denotification in 1996 until he sold the land to Mallikarjuna Swamy in 2004. They obtained information on who applied for denotification, whether the land was in his name, if his siblings' family members consented to the sale, and the transaction amount and recorded his statement.
The officials informed both individuals that they might be summoned again, for questioning, if necessary. There is a possibility that the first two accused in the case, Siddaramaiah and Parvati, may also be served notices and called for questioning, soon.
Meanwhile, RTI activist Gangaraju visited the Lokayutka office in Mysuru and demanded that Mallikarjuna Swamy and Devaraju be taken into custody.
He had submitted an RTI application before the Lokayukta in Bengaluru, seeking information related to the raid the Lokayukta team had planned to conduct on MUDA office in June.
He had filed the application on October 8, requesting details on the intended date of the raid, the documents obtained in this regard, in whose name the search warrant had been issued, and why it was withdrawn.
He had visited the office of the SP of Lokayukta in Mysuru to gather information on his application. When he learnt that Swamy and Devaraju were in the office, on Thursday, he urged the officials, "The police should take Swamy and Devaraju into custody”.