BELAGAVI: Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya has rallied behind PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi amid the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searches on the latter’s properties and those of his associates, questioning the agency’s decision to publicise details of the probe before the filing of a chargesheet or conclusion of a trial.
Mallya particularly criticised the ED for issuing a press release on the searches and subsequently posting details on X, which, he said, amounted to publicly revealing information about Jarkiholi’s businesses and investments without a fair trial.
Sharing the ED’s press release from his personal handle on X, Mallya wrote: “Enforcement Directorate boasting this. No chargesheet. No trial. Just character assassination in public. This does not happen in any other Country. Please think for yourself.” In another post, he said: “Shameful. In which country in the world do any enforcement agency boast like this without a fair trial?”
Mallya, who himself was the subject of investigations by Indian agencies, said he would expose what he described as alleged falsehoods and fabricated charges by the CBI and ED.
He added, “For those who want to know the truth, I will slowly reveal all the lies and false charges concocted by the CBI and ED who are masters in deception. I have stood strong and patient and will continue as I do not believe in ‘giving up’ to falsehood. But I pity all those other victims who have been wrongly targeted by these agencies. It is public knowledge on what they do.”