BENGALURU: The marathon search and seizure operations by the officials of the ED at the residences of former minister B Nagendra and Raichur Rural Congress MLA Basanagounda Daddal, continued on Thursday, in connection with the alleged irregularities in Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Limited (KMVSTDC).
The ED, after registering a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), swung into action early on Wednesday. The officials who reportedly took a break at midnight, however remained at the sites and resumed their operation at 7 am on Thursday. Two close aides of Nagendra and the former personal assistant of Daddal, Pampanna, who used to be a teacher, were also questioned by the ED on Thursday.
ED officials, who had also carried out search operations at his residence in the Royal Fort Apartment in Raichur on Wednesday, took Pampanna into custody. He was taken to Daddal’s residence in Raichur, along with two bags of documents. Pampanna, who had participated in Kannadada Kotyadhipati (KBC-Kannada) in 2012, had won Rs 50 lakh. There are allegations that Pampanna has received a commission of a few lakhs in the scam. He was earlier questioned by the SIT on July 5.
The officials also found that Nagendra had an account in a private bank in Mathikere and were checking the bank transaction details for the last six months. The ED has also questioned the bank officials in this regard. The officials who had camped at Nagendra’s Dollar’s Colony flat have seized certain documents, a computer and his mobile phone for investigation. Nagendra’s personal assistant Harish has also been grilled by the ED.
Meanwhile, the SIT has also issued notices to the former minister and the chairman on Thursday to appear for questioning. It may be recalled that the ED on Wednesday conducted the search and seizure operations at 18 locations in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The state government has also constituted an SIT to probe the scam. The officials had searched Nagendra’s flats on New BEL Road and also another house in Ballari. The Raichur and Yelahanka houses of Daddal, who is the chairman of the corporation, were also searched.
shivakumar takes dig at ED for raids
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar took a dig at the Enforcement Directorate for raiding the accused in the KMVSTDC scam “even as it had received no complaints”. He felt the action was unwarranted when the SIT probe was in progress. “It is true that fraud has taken place in this case and we know the facts. The state government has constituted an SIT which is investigating it and has seized the illegally transferred money. The CBI has the power to investigate any irregularities beyond a certain amount,” he suggested. “Since there was no complaint with the ED, there was no need for it to conduct the raids. The minister has voluntarily resigned,” he added.