Valmiki Corporation scam: Bengaluru Police book 2 ED officials for ‘coercing’ officer to name CM Siddaramaiah, former Minister Nagendra

Valmiki Corporation scam: Bengaluru City Police register case against ED officials for coercing Karnataka official to name CM and former Minister.

The Bengaluru City Police have registered a case against two officials of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) for allegedly coercing a senior official of the Government of Karnataka to name Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and former Minister for Scheduled Tribes Welfare B. Nagendra in connection with the financial irregularities at the State-run Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Welfare Development Corporation.

Wilson Garden Police registered the FIR on Monday (July 22), based on a complaint by B. Kallesh, Additional Director, Social Welfare Department, who was Director, ST Welfare Directorate and by virtue of that post an ex-officio director in the Valmiki Corporation and questioned by the ED on July 16.

The FIR names Mittal and Murali Kannan, both “ED officers, Bengaluru” as accused. The officer named as Mittal is Manoj Mittal, Deputy Director, ED, Bengaluru, sources said. The two officers have been booked for criminal intimidation under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.

In his complaint to the police, Mr. Kallesh said he appeared before the ED for questioning in the case on July 16. “ED officials gave me a questionnaire of 17 questions. I said of them, to answer three of them, I needed the help of files and junior officials. Following this, ED officials started questioning me orally, with nothing being recorded,” he said. 

“The officials said that it was wrong of me to have credited money to the Corporation through the M.G. Road bank branch. I said that I had transferred the money after billing the same, on March 25, as per the order of the government. However, money had been credited into this account illegally from March 5 itself,” Mr. Kallesh said, adding that ED officials had then started pressuring him to name others in the scam.

“The ED official threatened me that he would arrest me and I wouldn’t get bail for at least two years. He said the ED would help me if I gave in writing that I had instructions from former minister B. Nagendra, the highest authority of the government and Finance Department to transfer the money to the account in the M. G. Road branch,” he said, adding he was next questioned by Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Manoj Mittal. 

“Mr. Mittal threatened me with arrest, said he would not rest till he ensured I would be handed down a sentence of 7 years. He said he read my written statement and that was no good. He said if ED had to help me, I had to give it in writing that I was under pressure from CM sir, Nagendra sir and the Finance Department to transfer the money,” he said in the complaint.