The complainant in the Mysore urban development authority (Muda) land allotment case, in which chief minister Siddaramaiah is the main accused, has levelled allegations of stamp duty irregularities in connection with a property owned by the Congress leader’s wife and co-accused in the case, Parvathi M.
Snehamayi Krishna, on whose complaint the Lokayukta police registered a case against Siddaramaiah and others over Muda land allotment, has alleged that Muda’s special tahsildar N Manjunath had paid the stamp duty for Parvathi’s property.
“The property’s registration fees were handled by the deed registrants, while the tahsildar, N Manjunath, took care of the stamp duty,” Krishna told reporters in Mysuru on Monday.
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The complaint, an RTI activist, also shared some documents on social media recently to back his claims. “Normally, the buyer who registers the deed has to pay the related fees. However, instead of Parvathi, the Muda special tahsildar has paid the fixed stamp duty. CM Siddaramaiah’s influence in this is clear,” he alleged, seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Muda case.
The Lokayukta police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are investigating alleged irregularities in a land allotment case involving Muda sites.
Siddaramaiah was questioned last week by a team led by Lokayukta superintendent of police (SP) TJ Udesh.
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The inquiry focused on allegations concerning the allocation of 14 Muda sites to his wife, who was questioned by Lokayukta police on October 25.
Months after the row over land allotment scheme began, the Mysore Urban Development Authority (Muda) on Thursday announced its decision to take back plots distributed under the controversial 50:50 scheme.
Speaking to the media after the meeting of Muda officials, MLA GT Devegowda said: “The Lokayukta, ED, and the Desai commission are all investigating the Mysore 50:50 scheme. We have agreed that the illegally allocated sites should be returned and cancelled. These should go to those who are legally entitled. We will wait for the commission’s final report before making any further decisions.”
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Siddaramaiah, while talking to reporters in Hubballi, refuted Krishna’s claims as “baseless and misleading”. He said that any suggestion of a tahsildar’s involvement in funding or managing property-related expenses was unfounded.
“The allegations are false. My brother-in-law gave a donation letter. Why would the tahsildar give? Why would the AC give?” he added.
Yathindra Siddaramaiah, the chief minister’s son, clarified that the special arrangement was made keeping his mother’s health condition at the time. “Since she was unwell, the registrar came to the guest house for the registration. He might have helped us then, but there is nothing illegal about it,” he said, dismissing allegations of wrongdoing.
He added that if a government official provided assistance in the case, it was purely a matter of convenience due to his mother’s health condition.