The Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case whistleblower Snehamayi Krishna has been booked by police on charges of sexual harassment, filed by a woman at the Nanjangudu Police Station on August 21, 2024. The activist denied all charges, calling it a ‘conspiracy’ to silence him.
Snehamayi was charged under Sections 85, 126(2), 74, 352, 351(2), 79, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The right to information (RTI) activist had earlier filed a case against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, alleging illegal allocation of compensatory land by the MUDA, which recently led to a court order directing an FIR investigation into the matter
“This is an attempt to suppress my fight against corruption. Even if I am jailed, my battle will continue,” he said. According to Snehamayi, 23 cases have been filed against him so far; he has been proven innocent in 8 of them and investigations have found 9 others to be false.
“One such instance is the Nanjangudu case, which alleges that I harassed a woman. My call records show that I was in Mysuru at that time. There is no new FIR against me; they are rehashing old complaints,” he said while speaking to the media.
Furthermore, he stated that he has sent a letter to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), requesting an investigation into the MUDA case, which involves ₹5,000 crore in corruption.
The MUDA case
The MUDA case recently took a turn when the High Court upheld the Karnataka Governor’s decision to allow for the prosecution of CM Siddaramaiah. Following this, the Special Court, under Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, directed the police to investigate the matter and submit a report within 90 days. Later, an FIR was filed against Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathi, his brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy and landowner Devaraju for illegal allocation of compensatory land.
Siddaramaiah took to X and posted that he would win legally, as he has not engaged in any corrupt activities.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that Siddaramaiah and others involved in the MUDA case are expected to be booked, following the FIR filed by the Lokayukta police. The ED is expected to invoke sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to book the CM.
With inputs from PTI