Former Chief Ministers of Karnataka HD Kumaraswamy and BS Yeddyurappa are in trouble after the lokayukta police have filed an FIR against them in a land denotification case. Also, police have charged them under the Prevention of Corruption Act and several IPC provisions, including criminal conspiracy and cheating.
The denotification ghost has come back to haunt lingayat strong man and former BJP Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa and JDS chief and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy over an acre denotified at Matadahalli layout in RT Nagar a prime location in Bengaluru by Yeddyurappa favouring Vimala, mother-in-law of HD Kumaraswamy. Vimala’s son TS Channappa has also being named in the FIRs.
According to lokayukta Superintendent of Police, Sonia Narang, Sections 13 (i) (c) and (d) and 13 (ii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, pertaining to criminal misconduct by public servants have been invoked against Yeddyurappa and Kumaraswamy.
This case pertains to 2010 when Yeddyurappa was the Chief Minister who headed a first BJP Government in the South. Social activist and complainant, Jayayakumar Hiremath, said Yeddyurappa had denotified one acre and 11 guntas (1/40th of an acre) of land, which was originally owned by Thimmareddy, Nagappa and Muniswamappa in favour of Vimala, the mother-in-law of HD Kumaraswamy, son of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.
He also alleged that Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had acquired the land for forming a layout at Mathadahalli for which it issued the preliminary notification in 1976. The land was taken into possession in 1988 after final notification and compensation paid to land losers subsequently, Hiremath said.
He said, “This is a 100 per cent violation by Kumaraswamy and Yeddyurappa. This is public property and I will fight till the end.” Besides these, charges under Sections 401 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 418 (cheating with knowledge that wrongful loss may ensue to person whose interest offender is bound to protect), 420 (cheating), and 120 B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code have also been slapped against them.