The Enforcement Directorate on Monday booked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and a few others in a money-laundering case linked to the Mysuru City Growth Authority, taking cognisance of a latest state Lokayukta FIR, official sources mentioned.
The federal company has filed an enforcement case info report (ECIR) to ebook the chief minister and others, they mentioned.
Siddaramaiah, his spouse B M Parvathi, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy and Devaraju — from whom Swamy had bought land and gifted it to Parvathi — and others have been named within the FIR registered by the Mysuru-located Lokayukta police institution on September 27.
The FIR was lodged after a particular courtroom in Bengaluru final week ordered a Lokayukta police probe in opposition to Siddaramaiah within the case.
The order of the particular courtroom choose got here a day after the excessive courtroom upheld the sanction granted by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to conduct an investigation in opposition to the senior Congress chief on allegations of illegalities within the allotment of 14 websites to his spouse by the Mysuru City Growth Authority (MUDA).
The ED has pressed sections of the Prevention of Cash Laundering Act (PMLA) to ebook Siddaramaiah in its ECIR, the equal of a police FIR.
In keeping with the process, the ED is empowered to summon the accused for questioning and even connect their belongings throughout the investigation.
Siddaramaiah, 76, had final week mentioned he was being focused within the MUDA concern because the opposition was “scared” of him and famous that it was the primary such “political case” in opposition to him.
He additionally reiterated that he wouldn’t resign following the courtroom ordering a probe in opposition to him within the case as he has performed no flawed and asserted that he would battle the case legally.
Within the MUDA site-allotment case, it’s alleged that compensatory websites got to Siddaramaiah’s spouse in an upmarket space in Mysuru, which had larger property worth as in comparison with the situation of her land that was “acquired” by MUDA.
The Lokayukta FIR has been registered below varied sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) like 120B (legal conspiracy), 166 (public servant disobeying legislation, with intent to trigger damage to any particular person), 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 406 (legal breach of belief), 420 (dishonest and dishonestly inducing supply of property), 426 (mischief), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for function of dishonest), 340 (wrongful confinement) and 351 (assault).
