Enforcement Directorate raids Muda's office in Mysuru, team of 12 officials on spot

ED officials are conducting a meeting with MUDA officials, including Commissioner AN Raghunandan, and are likely to seize documents in connection with the land allotment case.

In Short

• ED holds meeting with MUDA Commissioner AN Raghunandan
• Possible seizure of documents related to land allotment case
• All MUDA officials to be questioned

A team of 12 Enforcement Directorate officials raided the office of the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) on Friday in connection with the land allotment case, in which Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is also named. The officials conducted a meeting with senior MUDA officials, including Commissioner AN Raghunandan.

The officials are likely to seize documents pertaining to the case following the meeting. The probe agency will question all MUDA officials to ascertain their involvement in the land allotment case.

The development comes a couple of days after K Marigowda, believed to be a close aide of Siddaramaiah, resigned as MUDA chairperson citing health reasons.

Speaking to the media after resigning, Marigowda dismissed claims that he resigned due to political pressure. However, he claimed that he resigned at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's direction.

"I have met the minister and submitted my resignation. The Chief Minister instructed me to resign, and following his directions, I did so," he said.

"There was no pressure on me to resign. My health is genuinely not in good condition, so I am stepping down voluntarily. I have known the Chief Minister for more than 40 years. He appointed me as district president and never asked me to do anything illegal, including anything related to MUDA. I am resigning for personal reasons; I have suffered two strokes and cannot continue," he added.

The Opposition has demanded Siddaramaiah's resignation after the Karnataka High Court dismissed his petition, challenging the legality of the Governor's decision to prosecute him over alleged irregularities in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scheme.

The case against the Chief Minister pertains to allegations that compensatory sites were allotted to his wife, BM Parvathi, in an upmarket area in Mysuru that had higher property value as compared to the location of her land that had been acquired by MUDA.

MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout. Activists, however, argue that the land allotted to his wife as compensation had a higher property value as compared to the location of her land that was acquired by MUDA.