BENGALURU: The ED continued its simultaneous raids on the offices of the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) in Bengaluru and Dharwad through Saturday, following initial operations that began on Friday.
The ED recently registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) related to an alleged land acquisition scandal for the Hubballi airport. It brought former chief finance officer Vani to the KIADB headquarters at Khanija Bhavan in Bengaluru for questioning, along with current CFO Prakash. Officials scrutinised documents and files at the KIADB’s Dharwad office. The investigation was prompted by a complaint filed by a Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activist from Dharwad, as per sources.
Four FIRs were registered in Dharwad in 2022 and 2023 related to the alleged scam. One of these cases has been transferred to the CID, while the others remain under investigation by the local police.
The CID investigation has named 14 individuals as accused, including four KIADB officials, along with officials from IDBI Bank, Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank, and Bank of Baroda.
In a 2022 complaint, the Special Land Acquisition Officer of KIADB alleged that officials and private individuals conspired to create fake documents in 2021, falsely claiming ownership of land that had already been acquired and compensated for by KIADB during the 2011-12 airport project.
Following the 2022 case, at least three additional instances have emerged so far, where private individuals forged documents to claim ownership of KIADB-acquired land and obtained fresh compensation from the board. As a result, new FIRs were filed. The ED has registered an ECIR and conducted raids on Friday.