ED Raids Ex-Karnataka Minister Nagendra In Valmiki Corporation Scam Case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday carried out searches in four states, including at the premises of former Karnataka minister and Congress leader B Nagendra and MLA B Daddal, as part of a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Limited, official sources said.

The agency covered around 20 locations in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and one more state as part of a case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.

The premises of Congress leader and former Karnataka Tribal Welfare and sports minister Nagendra and Congress MLA from Raichur rural seat Daddal, some entry operators and linked entities are being searched.

Daddal was also the chairperson of the Corporation.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Karnataka Police CID had questioned the two on Tuesday in this case.

The alleged scam came to fore after accounts superintendent of the Corporation, Chandrasekharan P was found dead on May 21. He wrote a suicide note alleging illegal transfer of money from the Corporation to various bank accounts.

Subsequently two officials were suspended. With mounting pressure minister Nagendra resigned on May 29.

In the suicide note, Chandrasekharan alleged that there was an unauthorised transfer of Rs 187 crore belonging to the state-run Corporation from its bank account.

Further, Rs 88.62 crore was illegally deposited into various accounts of some IT companies and a Hyderabad-based cooperative bank.

While the state government has constituted the SIT to investigate it, the Central Bureau of Investigation is also probing it simultaneously based on a complaint by the Union Bank of India.