BENGALURU: A city court extended former minister B Nagendra’s Directorate of Enforcement (ED) custody to an additional five days. Nagendra, who was arrested in connection with the Valmiki Corporation scam, was produced before the Special Court for MPs/MLAs on Thursday, after a routine medical check-up. He was earlier remanded in the custody of the ED for six days that ended on Thursday. Separately, Raichur Rural Congress MLA Basanagounda Daddal, the chairman of the corporation, appeared at the ED office in Shantinagar on Thursday morning, in response to a notice served to him by the officers. Daddal is being quizzed about the documents recovered from his premises. It may be recalled that Nagendra’s wife R Manjula was questioned by ED officers extensively on Wednesday.
It may also be noted that the ED, Bengaluru Zonal Office, arrested Nagendra, the former minister of Scheduled Tribal Welfare and Youth and Sports, on July 12, under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The arrest is part of an ongoing probe into the misappropriation of funds of the Valmiki Corporation, totalling Rs 89.62 crore. On July 10, the ED conducted search and seizure operations across 23 premises in four states, uncovering crucial evidence.