Lokayukta police submit status report on Ashoka probe

The probe was handed over to the Lokayukta police by the Court on October 21.

Investigating officer - Deputy Superintendent of Police Abdul Ahad - requested for six weeks time to complete the investigation, but Judge N K Sudhindra Rao gave time till December 16 to submit the final report.

According to the private complaint lodged by Jayaprakash Hiremath, Ashoka was responsible for purchasing two pieces of land at Lottegollahalli in Bangalore North Taluk, even though the land vested with the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). Subsequently, Ashoka had them denotified by then chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, against the advice of the Urban Development Department.

In the FIR filed by the Lokayukta police, Ashoka is the first accused, while the original landowners - G Shamanna and Ramaswamy - are the second and third accused. Yeddyurappa is the fourth accused in the FIR.

Land utilisation

According to the complaint, BDA had acquired 18 guntas in survey number 10/1 at Lottegollahalli for the Rajmahal Vilas 2nd Phase extension, through a final notification on April 23, 1988. Of the 18 guntas, BDA utilised 8.27 guntas for the Outer Ring Road.

The owners, G Shamanna and others, sought denotification of the remaining 9.73 guntas which remained unused.

On February 26, 2003, Shamanna executed a sale deed in Ashoka for a meagre Rs 3.42 lakh even though the land had not been denotified and was still in the possession of the BDA. 

Even though the Principal Secretary of the Urban Development Department wrote to the BDA Commissioner ruling out the possibility of denotification of the land in September 2008, the land was denotified on Yeddyurappa’s orders on December 31, 2009.

In the other instance, BDA had acquired one acre, three guntas of land in survey number 10/11F in the same area through a final notification on August 2, 1978. Of the total land, the agency had utilised 29 guntas.

The owner, Ramaswamy, petitioned the BDA seeking denotification of the remaining 14 guntas, but the BDA turned it down.

Once again, Ashoka purchased the land from Ramaswamy violating rules. On October 16, 2009, Ramaswamy appealed to Yeddyurappa seeking denotification of the land and the 14 guntas were denotified 15 days later on October 31, 2009.