Tribal welfare case: Nagendra, Cong MLA names not mentioned in SIT charge sheet

Bengaluru, Aug 5 (IANS) Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the Tribal Welfare Board case, has submitted a charge sheet of 3,072 pages against 12 accused persons on Monday, sources said.

However, the charge sheet has not mentioned the names of former minister B. Nagendra, who is jailed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the case, and MLA and Tribal Welfare Board Chairman Basanagouda Daddal.

The charge sheet has been submitted to the Third Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Court (ACMM) against 12 accused in the case.

The preliminary charge sheet has mentioned that the officers have seized more than Rs 45 crore and gold jewels in connection with the case.

The charges have been framed against board M.D. Padmanabh, accountant Parashuram, Nekkunti Nagaraj, Nageshwar, Sai Teja, Satyanarayana Varma, Satyanarayana Itkari and other accused persons.

The development is likely to trigger a row in the state as the BJP has demanded the handing over of the scam to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and also asked for the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said that ED officials threatened the former Tribal Welfare Development Board Managing Director B. Kallesh to mention his name in the alleged case during interrogation.

“They (ED) pressured him (officer Kallesh) with arrest, subjected him to mental pressure and coerced him with life threat only to implicate me legally in the case. Kallesh filed a police complaint. In the complaint, he had detailed his ordeal,” the Chief Minister said.

The Congress also staged a protest at the Vidhana Soudha, condemning the high-handedness of the ED. The Karnataka Police have lodged an FIR against the ED officials while the central agency obtained a stay on the FIR from the Karnataka High Court.

Siddaramaiah had stated: “We have not stated that there is no wrongdoing in the Valmiki Tribal Welfare Development Corporation. The opposition has repeatedly accused us of misusing Rs 187.33 crore. Out of this, Rs 89.63 crore was transferred from Union Bank of India, MG Road Branch, to Telangana,” the Chief Minister said.

“Neither I nor the Finance Department is related to it. The budget process involves approvals being given to the secretaries of grants, then to the directors, who allocate the funds to the managing directors. This is the process,” the Chief Minister said.

Three investigation agencies are probing the irregularities in the Tribal Welfare Board case. The SIT was formed on May 31, 2024, and a complaint was filed with the CBI on June 3, 2024, by the Union Bank of India while the ED is conducting an investigation independently.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had stated that it is unprecedented in his experience, for three investigation agencies to investigate the same case.

He had also accused the Union government of adopting unfair means to destabilise the state government, target the Chief Minister, and tarnish his and the government’s reputation.

The scam had come to light following the suicide of the Accounts Superintendent Chandrasekaran of the Tribal Welfare Board.

Nagendra, who was the Minister for Sports, Youth Empowerment and Tribal Welfare was asked to resign following the pressure from the opposition.