Don’t know ED’s procedure in Tribal Welfare Board case: Shivakumar

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister on Thursday said that he does not know the procedure followed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the multi-crore Tribal Welfare Board case.

“I don’t know what procedure the ED is following in their investigation. It is true that fraud has been committed. We know the facts of the case. We formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case and the misappropriated funds have already been recovered,” the Deputy Chief Minister told media persons.

He said that if the fraud amount exceeds a certain limit then the CBI has the authority to investigate a case. “After all these investigations are completed, the ED can review whether the investigation was conducted properly or not. But the ED did not need to conduct a raid without any complaint,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

He said that the SIT investigation is being conducted independently and the ministers have resigned voluntarily to prevent any disruption in the investigation.

“We have also cross-checked and the ministers have not signed anything. They are not involved. The investigation is being conducted according to the law,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

The opposition has alleged the involvement of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the case and also alleged that the Rs 187 crore funds of the Tribal Welfare Board were used to fund elections in Telangana and other states.

The ED has also raided the residences of Nagendra and Basanagouda Daddal related to the case.

The case came to light after the suicide of senior officer Chandrasekaran. He had left a death note alleging that senior officials had forced him to open a parallel account to divert money from the Corporation’s primary account, based on “oral instructions by a minister.”