4 BJP leaders move Karnataka High Court for CBI probe into Rs 94 crore tribal welfare fund scam

The BJP leaders person sought a absorption to the CBI to analyse a First Information Report dated June 3, 2024 registered by the bureau and a presumption study connected the probe.

Earlier this period the precocious tribunal had dismissed a plea filed by the Union Bank of India for handing implicit to the CBI investigations into the embezzlement of Rs 94.73 crore of funds of the Karnataka Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation. B Nagendra, a erstwhile Congress curate was arrested successful transportation with the lawsuit successful July.

The precocious court, portion dismissing the plea connected November 13, observed that the substance was acceptable to beryllium probed by an autarkic bureau different than the authorities constabulary who are investigating the matter.

The Union Bank of India had cited circulars issued nether conception 35A of the Banking Regulation Act of 1949 by the Reserve Bank mandating probe of fraud worthy much than Rs 50 crore astatine banks to cardinal investigating agencies.

“I person not accepted the mentation of conception 35 A to go a crushed for notation to CBI. If I licence that past each banking instauration whitethorn ask. The DSPE (Delhi Special Police Establishment) Act volition go redundant,” the precocious tribunal justice observed portion dismissing the plea.

The lawsuit has governmental undertones successful Karnataka connected relationship of the apprehension of erstwhile Congress curate Nagendra by the ED for wealth laundering adjacent arsenic a Karnataka Police peculiar probe squad (SIT) did not find grounds to implicate the ex-minister successful a transgression lawsuit for the fraud.

After his merchandise past period connected bail, Nagendra alleged that helium was forced by ED officials to sanction Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his lawman D K Shivakumar successful the case. The ED has alleged that funds diverted from the ST corp were utilized for the Parliament polls by Nagendra successful Bellary Lok Sabha constituency.

A full of Rs 94.73 crore of funds deposited by the Karnataka Valmiki ST Development Corporation with the Union Bank of India’s MG Road subdivision successful Bengaluru successful March 2024 was siphoned disconnected to 18 accounts linked to a steadfast successful Telangana. The constabulary filed a lawsuit against slope officials and others. The SIT, however, did not sanction the slope officials oregon erstwhile ST payment curate Nagendra successful its archetypal chargesheet.

The Union Bank of India besides filed a abstracted ailment with the CBI and a lawsuit of cheating, fraud and corruption was registered by the cardinal bureau arsenic well. The slope besides approached the Karnataka authorities seeking to manus implicit the full probe to the CBI connected June 19, 2024. Two days later, the slope approached the precocious tribunal for the same.

The tribunal besides observed that an autarkic probe is due but would not let an mentation of conception 35A of the Banking Regulation Act arsenic suggesting a CBI probe successful each banking-linked cases successful states.

“When the Ministers oregon precocious functionaries who are progressive successful peculiar allegations and those allegations are being investigated into, specified investigations indispensable beryllium entrusted to autarkic agencies, agencies which are not nether the power of the State Government and it is lone past it would instil nationalist assurance successful the probe oregon supply credibility to specified investigation. But that cannot beryllium an mentation of Section 35A of the Act, arsenic is projected by the learned Attorney General,” the tribunal observed.

The caller petition for a CBI probe has been filed by a conception of BJP leaders successful Karnataka who are considered to beryllium opposed to the enactment of authorities BJP president B Y Vijayendra, the lad of erstwhile main curate B S Yediyurappa.

How the scam came to light

The Rs 94.73 crore ST Development Corporation scam surfaced connected May 26, 2024 aft an accounts serviceman successful the corp reportedly died by termination pursuing the disappearance of a information of Rs 187 crore deposited from the authorities treasury and different slope accounts successful a caller relationship opened for the corp successful the MG Road subdivision of the Union Bank of India.

The scam forced the resignation of the past Congress curate for tribal payment Nagendra. The SIT probe recovered that the funds were siphoned to 18 superior accounts successful Telangana and Andhra Pradesh created by Satyanarayana Verma, who is accused successful a akin scam successful Chhattisgarh successful 2022, and his associates. The funds were subsequently routed to implicit 170 secondary accounts from wherever they were withdrawn.

Over 20 radical person been linked to the fraud truthful acold with 14 of them arrested by the SIT. The accused see six officials of the Union Bank of India, 2 officials of the tribal corp successful Karnataka – its MD Padmanabha G J and accounts serviceman Parashuram Dugganavar – and 8 backstage individuals, including adjacent associates of Nagendra.