Former MUDA Commissioner Natesh appears before Lokayukta police

The former Commissioner of Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) D.B. Natesh appeared before the Lokayukta police in Mysuru on Tuesday in connection with the ongoing probe into the alleged irregularities in the allotment of residential sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi.

Mr. Natesh was MUDA Commissioner in 2021 when 14 sites measuring a total of 38,284 square feet were allotted to Ms. Parvathi in Vijaynagar 3rd and 4th stage in the city as compensation for the 3 acres and 16 guntas of land in Kesare on the outskirts of Mysuru on which the authority had developed Devanur 3rd Stage Layout.

Mr. Natesh, who arrived at the office of the Lokayukta police in Mysuru on Monday morning in response to summons issued by Superintendent of Lokayukta police in Mysuru T.J. Udesh, was questioned by the Lokayukta sleuths for several hours with a break for lunch.

Mr. Natesh, who was visibly upset with the electronic media for shooting visuals on his arrival, appeared to be more at ease when he emerged from the questioning for the lunch break. He fielded reporters’ queries calmly and said the ongoing investigation into the allegations of irregularities will come out with the facts.

Without directly replying to queries from reporters on the rules that provided for allotment of compensatory sites under 50:50 ratio scheme, Mr. Natesh said the investigating agency will come out with the facts, which will in turn be subjected to judicial scrutiny by the courts.

Responding to his outburst at the electronic media for shooting his visuals on his arrival, Mr. Natesh said he, apart from being an official, was also a father to his children, husband to his wife and son to his parents. “The kind of pressure my family and I have gone through during the last three to four months can be understood only by people who go through the same,” he said.

After the conclusion of the questioning in the evening, Mr. Natesh said he had provided all the information Lokayukta police had sought and would appear before them whenever he is summoned again. He, however, told reporters that he was not in a position to disclose the questions posed to him by the Lokayukta police.

It may be mentioned here that the Lokayukta police, that has registered an FIR against Mr. Siddaramaiah, Ms. Parvathi, the CM’s brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, and Mr. Devaraju, who sold the 3 acres and 16 guntas of land, based on a complaint by activist Snehamayi Krishna had already summoned and questioned a number of persons in the case.

Mr. Siddaramaiah, Ms. Parvathi, Mr. Swamy and Mr Devaraju, besides a number of officials including the former Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru G. Kumar Naik, and former Commissioner of MUDA Palaiah had already appeared for questioning before the Lokayukta police.

Published - November 19, 2024 09:58 pm IST