Former Karnataka Minister and Congress leader B Nagendra was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Friday in connection with a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the State Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Limited. His arrest was made late at night after several hours of interrogation. Nagendra is accused of embezzling funds for his benefit while serving as the minister of this department. He was questioned for more than 13 hours before being held. He is expected to be produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Saturday where the ED will seek his remand for custodial interrogation.
Nagendra is a Congress MLA from the Ballari Rural constituency. This arrest is related to the investigation of the alleged scam in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation, in which funds amounting to approximately Rs 88 crores were allegedly misappropriated. Following raids on several of his associated locations from July 10-12, Nagendra was brought to the ED office in Shantinagar, Bengaluru, for interrogation on the morning of July 12.
How did the alleged scam came to the fore?
This alleged scam came to light when an employee of the corporation, N. Chandrasekharan, committed suicide on May 26, citing the embezzlement of funds in his suicide note and blaming the minister for it. Nagendra was overseeing the corporation as the Minister for Scheduled Tribe Welfare in the Karnataka government. Following the revelation of the alleged scam, the Minister resigned on June 6. Three agencies—SIT, CBI, and ED—are investigating this case.
The SIT has arrested 11 people and seized Rs 14.5 crores of the allegedly embezzled amount. On July 9, a day before the ED's raid, the SIT interrogated Nagendra and Basangouda Daddal, a Congress MLA from the Raichur Rural constituency and the chairman of the corporation. Following B. Nagendra's arrest, the possibility of Basangouda Daddal's arrest also looms large.
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