Forest Minister demands CID probe into 'conspiracy to grab 532 acres of forest land'

Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 9 (PTI) Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has written to the chief minister Siddaramaiah seeking a CID probe into what he described as a conspiracy involving fake documents allegedly used to grab 532 acres of forest and government land and secure a favourable court order.

According to Khandre, a man identified as M B Nemanna Gowda alias M B Manmath had filed a writ petition in the High Court and secured an order directing that records for 532 acres -- including 482 acres of reserved forest land near BM Kaval in Kengeri, Bengaluru -- be transferred to his name within three months.

In his letter, the minister said the government learnt of the development only at the last moment, stating that "until a day before the completion of the 90-day deadline, the government's Additional Government Advocate Yoganna did not convey this information either to the government or to the forest department." Khandre said the land, valued at nearly Rs 25,000 crore, would have been lost had the department not been alerted in the eleventh hour.

He said he convened an urgent meeting and instructed officials to file an appeal. He added that Manmath, also known as Nemanna Gowda, had previously attempted to claim government land by producing "fake and false documents".

The minister said the then Chikkamagaluru Sub-Divisional Officer Debjeet Kumar had, in an order dated September 25, 2024, directed that a criminal case be registered against Manmath.

After the BM Kaval issue surfaced, Khandre said he instructed officials to lodge a complaint with the Chikkamagaluru police.

"Though the Moodigere Circle Inspector received the complaint on November 28, 2025, no FIR has been registered so far," Khandre said in a statement and described the delay as "suspicious".

Khandre said it appeared prima facie that some officials and the Additional Government Advocate had directly or indirectly aided those attempting to grab land worth thousands of crores.

He urged the chief minister to form a special investigation team or hand over the matter to the CID for a comprehensive probe and for action against erring officials.

Meanwhile, Khandre has also called for action against the Assistant Conservator of Forests, noting the delay in filing a complaint despite the then Chikkamagaluru SDO specifically directing that a case be registered against those creating fake documents to grab government land. PTI GMS ADB