8,000 pages of documents, digitised records to be analysed to uncover about 5,000 site allocations

Mysuru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), the federal anti-money laundering agency, has seized over 8,000 pages of documents during its recent raid on Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) office. These property documents, consisting of physical copies and scanned records stored on hard drives, will be processed using specially designed software aimed at tracing the land dealings of MUDA officials and their relatives.

During the raids, ED agents collected critical information, including phone numbers and family trees of high-ranking officials, Personal Assistants to former Chairmen (since 2004), MUDA Commissioners, Secretaries, Town Planners, Special Land Acquisition Officers, Special Tahsildars, Executive Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers associated with MUDA’s establishment and site sections. A comprehensive list detailing the sites authorised by these officers has been compiled, including those allocated under the controversial 50:50 scheme. The investigation seeks to identify any relatives of officials involved, along with properties purchased under benami names.

Digitisation facilitates easy search

The ED’s investigation is based on the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Sources informed Star of Mysore that ED possesses specialised software capable of processing satellite images of properties distributed under the 50:50 ratio. Most properties in MUDA have been digitised, facilitating the ED sleuths in searching for and identifying any illegalities.

Property records, Khata, phone numbers, names and designations of officers and personal assistants will be fed into software to gather information on allocations to close relatives of officers and influential individuals in MUDA. The software can quickly identify potential financial irregularities and detect linkages in money laundering.

The agency faces a massive undertaking to uncover details related to over 4,000 to 5,000 sites distributed under the 50:50 ratio, including the allotment of 14 MUDA sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, in the Vijayanagar Third and Fourth Stages, in exchange for her 3.16-acre land in Kesare.

Online tracking

With the software, ED officers can conduct online searches on individuals, transactions, cases, supporting documents and underlying data based on details such as individual bank accounts, mobile numbers, PAN, and Aadhaar numbers linked to properties, sources said.

By utilising satellite images of these immovable assets and the documentation obtained from MUDA, the ED aims to track illegal activities. In addition to documents from MUDA, the ED has also seized materials from the Taluk Office and the office of the Additional Sub-Registrar within the MUDA premises.

MUDA sources indicated that many properties allocated under 50:50 ratio have been sold to other parties since the land scam broke out, with some properties changing hands multiple times. “Over 40 percent of them have already begun constructing their houses. If the ED establishes illegality in the allocations, these property owners could face serious repercussions,” sources added.