Bengaluru cops file FIR against 2 ED officials for ‘bid to frame Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’

BENGALURU: The tribal fund scam in Karnataka took a new turn Monday as Bengaluru City police registered an FIR against two top officials of Enforcement Directorate based on a complaint filed by a social welfare department officer accusing ED officials of pressuring him to implicate the CM, finance department and former minister B Nagendra in the scam.
Kallesh B, additional director of the department, stated in his complaint that the ED had summoned him over phone on July 16 for investigations into the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.
Wilson Garden police registered a case under BNS for criminal intimidation, intentional insult, and criminal liability when two or more individuals act with a common intention.
They mentioned Mittal as accused no. 1 and Muruli Kannan as accused no. 2 in the FIR.
Kallesh stated: "I appeared before ED assistant director Muruli Kannan, who asked me 17 questions. I answered all the questions except three, for which I sought time as I had to source documents and check with my subordinates.
Kallesh alleged the ED official did not give any endorsement for his statements. "However, he started to ask questions orally. He told me that transferring the corporation fund to the MG Road branch was wrong. So, I clarified to him that I had transferred the money according to the govt order on March 25, and illegal transfer of the fund was done on March 5. I did not commit any mistake. After my clarification, he threatened to arrest me and I would not get bail for two years," Kallesh stated in the complaint.
He added that Kannan had assured that ED would help him if he confessed that there was instruction from former minister Nagendra and the finance department. Kallesh added that Kannan sent him to Mittal, an IRS officer in the ED office.
"Mittal abused and pressured me (to make statements against the CM and Nagendra)," Kallesh said in his complaint, requesting police to take action against ED officials.
Nagendra in 14-day judicial custody
A session court on Monday sent former minister B Nagendra to 14-day judicial custody in a money-laundering case linked to Valmiki Corporation scam.
Nagendra was arrested by ED officials on July 12. He was initially remanded in ED custody for six days and then for additional five days.