The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is soon expected to book against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and several others in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). This action follows a recent FIR lodged by the state Lokayukta, according to official sources on Monday. Among those named in the FIR are Siddaramaiah, his wife B M Parvathi, his brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, and Devaraju, from whom Swamy purchased land that was subsequently gifted to Parvathi.
The FIR was filed following a directive from a special court in Bengaluru last week, which ordered a Lokayukta police investigation into Siddaramaiah. This ruling came just a day after the high court upheld the sanction provided by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to investigate the senior Congress leader over allegations of irregularities in the allocation of 14 sites to his wife by the MUDA.
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The ED is anticipated to invoke sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to charge Siddaramaiah in its Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR). Sources indicate that the federal agency is currently examining the FIR filed by the Lokayukta Police.
The Lokayukta FIR has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) like 120B (criminal conspiracy), 166 (public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person), 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 426 (mischief), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 340 (wrongful confinement) and 351 (assault).