BMTF quizzes Kumar, Setty in land case

 Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Suresh Kumar and former housing minister Krishnaiah Setty were grilled by the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force officer on Friday for allegedly violating the Karnataka Urban Land Ceiling Act (KULCA).

Kumar and Setty allegedly played a substantial role in the returning of four acres and 20 guntas of land at Laggere in Bangalore to K Gopinath, brother of an RSS functionary, in violation of the Act.

According to BMTF sources, Kumar, accompanied by his counsel, deposed before Deputy Superintendent of Police N T Pramod Rao at about 12 noon. He was quizzed for nearly 45 minutes.

Kumar is learnt to have expressed his ignorance about the case and sought to see the files in possession of the investigating officer.

He claimed that legal experts in the State were consulted and all procedures followed while returning the land.

Setty reached the BMTF police station along with his lawyer at about 1 pm. He was questioned for nearly two hours. Setty too is said to have given a statement similar to Kumar’s.

Both Kumar and Setty told the investigating officer that they would readily co-operate and depose before the officer whenever their presence was sought. It is learnt that they will depose next on November 23.

The land in question was acquired in 1982. Of the 16 acres and 10 guntas acquired under KULCA, 4.20 acres were given to the Karnataka Slum Development Board (KSDB) to construct houses for the urban poor.

When the process to start construction was in the final stages, Kumar and Setty allegedly halted the work. Despite strong protests by KSDB, the land was returned to Gopinath.