SP Office but SP on leave

Mysuru: The Lokayukta SP Office on Dewan’s Road in the city has transformed into a hub of activity following the Special Court for MLAs/MPs in Bengaluru approving an investigation against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment scam.

The Lokayukta SP Office will now investigate this high-profile case and has been directed to submit its report to the Court by Dec. 24. However, the initial First Information Report (FIR) is yet to be registered.

Bengaluru-based activist S.P. Pradeep Kumar, one of the three complainants who had petitioned the Governor for the Chief Minister’s prosecution, submitted a formal complaint at the Lokayukta SP Office yesterday while pressing for the FIR. However, Mysuru Division Lokayukta SP T.J. Udesh declined to file the FIR, stating he needed to seek legal opinions before proceeding.

After a heated exchange, Pradeep Kumar received an acknowledgment receipt for his complaint. Today, another petitioner, Snehamayi Krishna, visited Lokayukta SP Office with a complaint, but Udesh was unavailable. Arriving on a scooter, Krishna went unrecognised by media personnel, who had expected him to arrive in a car. Reporters identified him when he removed his helmet after parking his scooter inside the SP Office compound.

After displaying a copy of the complaint to the media, Snehamayi Krishna entered the SP Office, only to be informed by the staff that the SP would only receive the complaint, who was unavailable today. Krishna insisted that the Additional SP accept his complaint, but the office refused, leading to a stalemate.

Meanwhile, KPCC Spokesperson M. Lakshmana, who visited the Lokayukta SP Office this morning, was reportedly informed by SP Udesh over the phone that he would be available only in the evening or tomorrow. Lakshmana had come to request the SP to file a complaint against Pradeep Kumar, who allegedly directed abusive language at the SP while submitting his complaint yesterday.

Delaying tactics?

Sources informed SOM that the officers may have been instructed to delay the FIR registration, allowing sufficient time for Siddaramaiah’s legal team to approach High Court Division Bench against the Single Judge Bench’s order that quashed Siddaramaiah’s petition regarding the Governor’s prosecution sanction.

Additionally, sources indicated that the Mysuru Lokayukta Police are awaiting instructions from the office of the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP) in Bengaluru on how to proceed.

Certified copy of the order from the Special Court for Elected Representatives will first be sent to the Lokayukta ADGP & subsequently passed on to Lokayukta SP. However, there is currently no clarity on when the ADGP will relay the orders after obtaining approval from the DG&IGP.

Siddaramaiah, along with his wife B.M. Parvathi, son Dr. Yathindra Siddaramaiah, brother-in-law B.M. Mallikarjunaswamy, Devaraju who sold the land and MUDA officers are expected to be named in the FIR.