Mayor, wife get bail

 Mayor D Venkatesh Murthy and his wife K Prabha on Tuesday surrendered before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, who granted them bail in a case pertaining to giving false declaration to secure eight acres of government land.

The land was allotted to the couple in 2004 on the basis of the declarations that they were landless labourers. Prabha had declared herself as Kenchappa's daughter, 14 years after her marriage.

Following complaints by the local residents, the sub-divisional magistrate of Bangalore South had ordered a probe. Further, the allotment of land was scrapped.

Reserved for cattle
The value of the land is estimated at Rs 12 crore. The land, located in Somanahalli village of Uttarahalli hobli in Bangalore South, was reserved for cattle.

The Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) police station had registered a case against the two under Section 197 IPC, served notices to appear in person at the police station on Tuesday and produce the documents pertaining to the land.

However, the two
approached the magistrate court to seek bail while they told the BMTF police that they need a week's time to appear before them due to their hectic schedule, said sources in the BMTF.