Ex-Muda chief in ED custody after being grilled in Mysuru land 'scam'

DB Natesh, during his tenure as Muda Commissioner from 2020 to 2022, had allotted 14 sites to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife, which she has now returned amid a row over alleged irregularities in land allotment by Muda.

In Short

• DB Natesh, ex-Muda chief, had allotted 14 sites to Siddaramaiah's wife
• Muda case pertains to 'irregularities' in land allotment to Parvathi
• Siddaramaiah denies graft allegations, calls it political vendetta

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

During his tenure from 2020 to 2022, Natesh had allotted 14 sites to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi, which she decided to return amid the row over alleged irregularities in land allotment by Muda.

The ED's action came a day after the probe agency carried out fresh searches across multiple locations in Bengaluru and Mysuru as part of its money laundering probe into 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-rank officials of the MUDA at its Bengaluru zonal office.

The Muda site allotment case involves allegations of corruption against Siddaramaiah. It is claimed that his wife, Parvathi, was allotted 14 sites in a prime Mysuru location with a significantly higher property value than the land acquired by 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 that Parvathi had no legal title over this 3.16 acres of land.

Siddaramaiah had denied any wrongdoing by him or his family, saying the opposition was "scared" of him and that it was the first such "political case" against him.

(with inputs from PTI)