BM Parvathi, wife of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, appeared before the Lokayukta police in Mysuru on Friday, October 25 to be questioned regarding her involvement in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam. Her appearance followed a court-ordered investigation in response to a complaint filed by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna. 

According to media reports, Parvathi produced all the documents and co-operated with the inquiry which went on for three hours. Lokayukta Police had reportedly issued notice to her on October 24.

The Lokayukta police are investigating 14 alternate sites given to Parvathi by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) in the Vijayanagar area of Mysuru as compensation. She had received these plots because MUDA reportedly used her 3.16-acre land in Kesare village, Mysuru, without formally acquiring it. The Lokayukta police started investigating after an FIR was filed on September 27 against Siddaramaiah and Parvathi is listed as the second accused in the FIR. This came after a Bengaluru court directed Lokayukta police in Mysuru to investigate based on a complaint from Mysuru RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna. 

According to the complaint, Devaraju originally sold the land to BM Mallikarjuna Swamy in 2004, and it was later converted for non-agricultural use. In 2010, Mallikarjuna Swamy gifted the land to his sister, Parvathi. Starting in 2014, she repeatedly asked MUDA for compensation for the land they had taken. In December 2021, MUDA’s Commissioner DB Natesh allotted her 14 plots in a 50:50 developed area. However, Parvathi returned all the plots to MUDA on October 1 after the allegations against Siddaramaiah in the alleged scam surfaced. The Additional District Registrar’s Office finalised the process on October 3, officially transferring the sites back to MUDA.