Mahalingeshwara Business Ventures accused of ‘trespass’ in petition; company calls it a ‘miscommunication’

Mangaluru

A petition submitted to the police has accused Shree Mahalingeshwara Business Ventures (SMBV) of allegedly trespassing into a private property in Puttur. However, a designated partner of the company has denied the allegation, describing the incident as a “mere miscommunication” rather than illegal entry.

On March 18, court-appointed receiver Aravinda Rao Kedige submitted a petition/intimation to the Puttur Town Police in Dakshina Kannada district. In the petition, he alleged that an earthmover associated with the company had illegally entered a private property located opposite the Women Police Station and had begun work on the land. A copy of the police intimation is available with this news website

Notably, this is the same property where a portion of a structure was allegedly demolished during the night of April 14 by local MLA Ashok Kumar Rai. Following the incident, an FIR was registered against the MLA and Mahalingeshwara Temple Administration president Panjigudde Eshwar Bhat.

Rao was appointed as the court receiver in 2018 by the Senior Civil Judge and JMFC Court in Bantwal to oversee more than nine acres of property belonging to the Kedige family. Final Decree Proceedings (FDP) concerning a total of 53 acres of family property are currently pending before the court.

SMBV, a limited liability partnership firm, is carrying out development activities on an adjacent property. According to Rao’s petition, representatives of the company had orally requested permission to use a portion of the Kedige property for storing construction material and to gain access to the company’s adjoining land. Rao said he had asked the company to submit a formal written request before using the property.

However, Rao alleged that despite his instructions, earthmovers entered the property without any formal communication, which he termed an act of trespass.

Rao immediately wrote to the company regarding the incident and also informed the police. Following the complaint, the earthmovers were reportedly removed from the site.

Interestingly, on April 13 — a day before the demolition of the partial structure — SMBV submitted a formal request seeking permission to use the space on the Kedige property. Rao said he suspects the company may have played a role in instigating the MLA and Eshwar Bhat to carry out the demolition.

Responding to the allegations, Krishna Narayana Muliya, a designated partner of SMBV, told blrpost.com that the incident was being misconstrued.

“It was not trespass. There was a clear miscommunication between Rao and the persons who contacted him on behalf of the company. We are law-abiding people. We have neither carried out any earthwork nor blocked the agricultural nala (water stream) flowing through the Kedige property. We also have absolutely no role in the demolition of the structure,” he said.