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Kumaraswamy accuses Karnataka govt of land grabbing in encroachment case against him

H D Kumaraswamy claimed that the SIT formed by the state government planned to conduct a raid without notifying him.

The minister claimed that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the state government planned to conduct a raid without notifying him, challenging the state to take over the land if it was encroached. (Photo: X/ @hd_kumaraswamy)

Union minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy Saturday accused the Congress government in Karnataka of conspiring to “grab” 45 acres of land owned by him near Bidadi in the Ramanagar district. The minister claimed that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the state government planned to conduct a raid without notifying him, challenging the state to take over the land if it was encroached.

The SIT was formed on January 28, ahead of the hearing of a contempt plea by the Karnataka High Court on January 29 over the state government’s failure to recover the land allegedly encroached on by influential persons, including Kumaraswamy. The NGO Samaj Parivartana Samudaya filed the petition, as the government failed to implement the undertaking given to the court to recover public land allegedly encroached at Kethiganahalli in the district neighbouring Bengaluru.

Kumaraswamy, the former chief minister of Karnataka, maintained that the 45-acre land in question was purchased by him in 1985 when he was a film distributor. Speaking to the media in Hassan, he said, “I informed the principal secretary that, ‘look, this is not government land; it is my personal property. How can you come without issuing a notice? I bought this land 40 years ago. If you wish to survey it, first issue me a notice as the rightful owner’.”

During the hearing held on January 29, the court noted that after five years since the writ petition to address the encroachment was resolved, the authorities have made inadequate progress in complying with the order to remove the encroachments.

The alleged encroachment case involving Kumaraswamy, the Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel, and others dates back to 2014 when the Karnataka Lokayukta requested a report on land records in Kethiganahalli village. Besides Kumaraswamy, the accused include former Mandya MP G Madegowda, former MLA D C Thammanna, a close relative of the minister, and an aunt of Kumaraswamy. They are accused of encroaching on government land valued at Rs 130 crore at the time.

The Lokayukta has ordered an investigation by revenue officials regarding alleged encroachments on the land. They requested measures to recover the land and called for criminal action against individuals found to be trespassing. Additionally, disciplinary actions will be taken against the officials responsible for these issues.

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