Bengaluru: A formal complaint has been filed against Congress leader Sam Pitroda with the Karnataka Lokayukta and Enforcement Directorate (ED), alleging his involvement in a ₹150 crore land scam.

Senior BJP leader and activist N R Ramesh lodged the complaint on Monday, accompanied by supporting documents. He accused Pitroda, a close aide of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, of illegally acquiring government-owned forest land.

The complaint also implicates Javed Akhtar (Retd. IAS), ex-Additional Chief Secretary of Karnataka’s Forest and Environment Department, alongside senior officials R.K. Singh, Sanjay Mohan, N. Ravindra Kumar, and S.S. Ravishankar. Charges include fraud, corruption, misuse of power, and illegal land acquisition.

According to Ramesh, Pitroda founded the Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) in 1991 and secured a 12.35-acre reserved forest lease in Jarakabande Kavalu, Bengaluru, for medicinal plant research. The lease, extended in 2001, expired in 2011, but no efforts were made to reclaim the land.

Ramesh alleges that due to political and financial influence, authorities failed to report the expiry, allowing Pitroda’s organization to continue operations unlawfully. He further claimed that the land was used to sell medicinal plants for profit over 29 years.

Pitroda, originally from Odisha, served as an advisor to former Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.

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