Enforcement Directorate Targets Congress Leaders in Major Scam Investigation
ED Raids Linked to Tribal Welfare Board Scam
Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has launched a series of raids targeting four Congress leaders and others as part of an investigation into the Maharshi Valmiki Tribal Welfare Board Scam in Ballary district and Bengaluru on Wednesday.
A contingent of 60 ED officers has been conducting coordinated searches at eight different locations, including five in Ballary and three in Bengaluru, since early morning, according to sources.
The residences and offices of Congress Ballary MP E. Tukaram, along with MLAs Na. Ra. Bharath Reddy, J.N. Ganesh (also known as Kampli Ganesh), and N. T. Srinivas, are among the sites being searched.
Additionally, the Bengaluru office of former Minister and Congress MLA Nagendra is also under scrutiny.
Raids are also taking place at the home of Govardhan, who serves as the personal assistant to Ballary Congress MLA and former Minister B. Nagendra.
These operations are linked to allegations of misappropriating funds designated for the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Limited (KMVSTDCL) intended for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It is claimed that these funds were also misused to support Congress candidates during the last Telangana Assembly elections.
Investigators are currently searching the room of former Minister and Ballary Rural MLA Nagendra at the Legislators' House, located near Vidhana Soudha.
An official confirmation regarding the raids is still pending.
In response to the ED's actions, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah remarked in Chikkaballapura, "Let the guilty face the consequences. I will not shield anyone involved. The investigation should proceed, and the truth must emerge."
Basavaraj Rayareddy, the Economic Advisor to CM Siddaramaiah, expressed his views in Delhi, stating, "It is unjust to single out Congress leaders. The state government is conducting the investigation. These raids are intended to instill fear among Congress representatives. The BJP is engaging in divisive politics, he criticized.
Congress MLC B.K. Hariprasad also condemned the situation, asserting that while investigations are necessary, the BJP has turned the ED into a weapon against political adversaries.
Sources indicate that Congress Ballary city MLA Bharath Reddy is currently being interrogated by ED officials at his residence.
The home of MLA Kampli Ganesh, situated on the outskirts of Kampli town, is also being searched.
Former Minister and MLA B. Nagendra had previously been imprisoned in connection with this case and resigned following the emergence of the scam. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah mentioned that the possibility of Nagendra rejoining the party would be evaluated.
Nagendra, who previously held the portfolios for ST Welfare, Youth Empowerment, and Sports, was arrested on July 12, 2024, by the ED in relation to this high-profile tribal welfare scam. He spent three months in jail before being released on bail.
After his release, Nagendra claimed that the ED had subjected him to harassment and accused the BJP of attempting to undermine elected governments across the nation.
The BJP has implicated Siddaramaiah in the scam, alleging that he consented to the misappropriation of Rs 89.6 crore from the government agency. They assert that the total scam amounts to Rs 187 crore, suggesting Siddaramaiah's involvement is clear given his role as finance minister.
The ED has identified B. Nagendra as the primary suspect and mastermind behind the alleged scam involving the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation.
"Nagendra is accused of orchestrating the scam with the assistance of 24 others, including key associates such as Satyanarayana Varma, Etakari Satyanarayana, J.G. Padmanabha, Nageshwar Rao, Nekkunti Nagaraj, and Vijay Kumar Gowda," the ED stated.
However, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Congress government previously cleared Nagendra of any wrongdoing in the scam, omitting his name from the charge sheet.
The investigation was initiated based on FIRs filed by the Karnataka Police and CBI, which revealed that approximately Rs 89.62 crore was diverted from the Corporation's accounts into fraudulent accounts across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, subsequently laundered through shell companies.
The case gained notoriety following the suicide of Accounts Superintendent P. Chandrasekaran (52), who was associated with the tribal welfare board. His suicide note referenced the scam and indicated pressure from politicians and senior officials to conceal the matter.
The 300-page charge sheet compiled by the special wing of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), operating under the state government, does not implicate any politicians from the ruling Congress party. However, Chandrasekaran's death note suggested the involvement of a minister from the Congress government, holding him accountable for his demise.