A government official has filed a complaint with the Bengaluru police, alleging that Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials were pressuring him to name Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Valmiki corporation scam. Additional Director Social Welfare Department Kallesh B filed a complaint with the Wilson Garden police who registered an FIR on Monday, July 22, Sections 3(5) (criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) and 352 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita.
In the complaint, Kallesh said he was threatened with arrest if he refused to name the Chief Minister and former Tribal Welfare Minister B Nagendra in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam in which over Rs 80 crore was allegedly siphoned off.
Kallesh said that the ED called him for questioning on July 16 at the ED’s Shantinagar office. His statement was recorded by ED official Murali Kannan and was asked 17 questions which he answered.
With regard to answers to three questions, Kallesh asked for his files and for his subordinates. The ED then asked him to come back on July 18, after they got the files. Kallesh said that he asked for a copy of his statement which they did not provide. Later, he was questioned again orally.
Kallesh alleged that the ED officials threatened to arrest him over an amount that he allegedly deposited at the MG Road branch on March 25. However, Kallesh said that that transaction had nothing to do with the alleged scam the transaction being investigated was carried out on march 5. The ED officials then threatened to arrest him and said that he would not be granted bail for two years.
He said that ED then promised to help him, if he gave a statement saying that he was asked to deposit money in the MG Road branch by the “CM, (former minister) B Nagendra, the highest authorities in the state government and the finance department officials”. The ED threatened to arrest him if he refused to do so.
The second accused in the case Mittal, an IRS officer, allegedly told Kallesh that he was a “criminal” and that he would be arrested immediately. He also allegedly threatened Kallesh saying, “If you want ED to help you, you should give a statement (implicating the CM). If you don’t give us that statement we will arrest you right now.”
The investigation into illegal money transfers involving the Corporation gained prominence following the suicide of its accounts superintendent, Chandrasekharan P, on May 26. In a note left behind, Chandrasekharan alleged the unauthorised transfer of Rs 187 crore from the Corporation’s bank account.
Chandrasekharan named the Corporation’s suspended Managing Director J G Padmanabh, accounts officer Parashuram G Durugannavar, and Union Bank of India Chief Manager Suchismita Rawal in the note, also mentioning oral directives from a "Minister’s staff" for the fund transfers.
The state government established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Manish Kharbikar, Additional Director General of Police, Economic Offences, at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to oversee the inquiry. Union Bank of India’s MG Road branch filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding the embezzlement of Corporation funds, prompting the investigative agency to launch its own probe.
Nagendra was arrested by ED on July 12.