The Karnataka Police on Monday registered an FIR against the two Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers who are investigating the State Tribal Welfare Board case, officials said.
The FIR was registered by Wilson Garden police station in Bengaluru based on the police complaint by B. Kallesh, the former Managing Director (MD) of the Tribal Welfare Board and incumbent Additional Director in the Social Welfare Department.
“The ED officials had threatened Kallesh with arrest and subjected him to mental torture to confess that former Minister B. Nagendra, higher government authorities and the State Finance Department had directed him to deposit money to the MG Road Bank. The ED said they would help him if he agreed to their statement,” the FIR said.
The Finance Department is held by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Meanwhile, the Congress MLAs will hold a protest on Tuesday morning before the Gandhi statue in the Vidhana Soudha premises in Bengaluru against the ED over the matter, the Chief Minister’s office said in a statement.
The statement said that the protest is observed opposing the move of ED officials who have harassed the corporation’s former MD, B. Kallesh to name Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and former Minister Nagendra.
The police have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 3 (5), 351 (2) and 352.
The FIR also said that Kallesh was called by the ED on July 16 and he attended the investigation at the ED office in Shantinagar in Bengaluru.
Kallesh had said that he was asked 17 questions by the ED and he had given answers to all. Among the 17 questions, he had told ED that to answer three questions, he needed files and junior officers.
Assistant ED Director Murali Kannan had recorded Kallesh’s statements.
The ED officer Kannan had asked Kallesh to come to the ED office on July 18 at 2 p.m. and the latter would get the files and junior officers to the ED office. He had not provided any copy of the statement to Kallesh.
Instead, the ED had sought answers to additional questions.
The ED officer had claimed that the transfer of money from the state treasury from the board to the MG Road Bank account was wrong.
Kallesh claimed that he had clarified that as per the government orders he had created the bill and deposited the amount on March 25, 2023.
Kallesh had told police that the illegal transfers had started on March 5, 2023, and there was no lapse from his side. Instead of this, the ED officials threatened to arrest him and told him that he wouldn’t get bail for two years.
Murali Kannan then sent Kallesh to senior ED official Mittal, who reprimanded Kallesh that he was a criminal and would be arrested.
Mittal also threatened Kallesh that he doesn’t know about the ED and he won’t get bail for two to three years.
“Mittal also said that he read Kallesh’s statement and it was not useful. If he wants ED’s help, he should give it in writing that the money was transferred as per the direction of former Minister Nagendra and the Finance Department. Kallesh was also forced to say that there was pressure.”
“Kallesh was repeatedly asked these questions and he (ED official Mittal) won’t leave him until he gets seven years imprisonment,” the FIR added.
The FIR also says that Mittal then called Murali to his chamber and both asked the same question, threatened Kallesh, and gave him instructions to agree to their claims of transferring money, or else he would be arrested immediately.
“Later, they both discuss arresting Kallesh,” the FIR said.
Murali Kannan had suggested that Kallesh be arrested on July 18, following which the latter had asked the police to take action against ED officers Mittal and Murali for threatening and reprimanding him as he had not done anything against the law.
Congress has said that ED was trying to destabilise the government in Karnataka.
On Thursday, the State Congress unit said that the ED was forcing the accused to name Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar in the alleged Tribal Welfare Board case to destabilise the state government.
“We have accurate information that the ED is trying to force and pressurise the accused to take the names of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister in the Tribal Welfare Board case,” State Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has said while addressing a joint press conference with Priyank Kharge, K.J. George, Krishna Byre Gowda and Santhosh Lad in Bengaluru, a few days back.
