ED officials continue marathon search at Muda office

Mysuru: Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials extended their record search at the Mysore Urban Development Authority (Muda) office for the second consecutive day Saturday, while IAS officer-turned-Congress MP G Kumar Naik faced questioning by Lokayukta sleuths.The ED officers had spent 12 hours examining land records Friday, wrapping up at 11.45pm. They resumed their investigation at 11.30am Saturday, focusing on the disputed Kesare land deal and the allocation of sites under the contentious 50:50 scheme. Sources indicated that Muda officials have been instructed to submit the minutes of a meeting that approved the allocation of 14 sites to chief minister Siddaramaiah's wife BM Parvathi as compensation.Naik, a former deputy commissioner of Mysuru (2004-05) and now MP from Raichur, is accused of approving the alienation of the Kesare land, allegedly linked to Parvathi, without conducting a site inspection. Naik was questioned for two hours regarding the matter.S Palaiah, the then headquarters assistant of Mysuru district and now a revenue member of the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Special Courts, Bengaluru, was also summoned for questioning. However, he failed to appear Saturday and has been asked to provide his testimony next week.Lokayukta superintendent of police, TJ Udesha, who is leading the investigation, said, "Naik was summoned to provide evidence in the case as he was the DC when the disputed Kesare land changed hands."Meanwhile, RTI activist Gangaraju leveled new allegations concerning Parvathi's recent land acquisition. He claimed that in Sept 2023, Parvathi purchased 20 guntas of land at Hebbal, north Mysuru, and subsequently rectified the sale deed on Aug 31, 2024. Gangaraju alleged that the original deed included areas designated for roads and pipelines, but following RTI queries, the registration was amended to exclude those sections. Another activist argued that the land in question is private, and pipelines were allowed without formal acquisition, stating, "It won't be an issue."
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