Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court is set to review an FIR filed against two Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in connection with the multi-crore Tribal Welfare Board scam, after the central agency approached the state’s top judiciary on Tuesday.
The ED moved the High Court, challenging the FIR lodged by the state police, claiming it was intended to obstruct their investigation into the scam.
In its petition, the ED argued that the FIR was filed without any preliminary inquiry, undermining the integrity of their ongoing investigation. Madhukar Deshpande, senior counsel representing the ED, emphasised the urgency of the matter and requested an immediate hearing, which the High Court is expected to take up later today.
The FIR, registered on Monday by the Wilson Garden police station in Bengaluru, is based on a complaint from B Kallesh, the former Managing Director of the Tribal Welfare Board and current Additional Director in the Social Welfare Department.
Kallesh has alleged that the ED officials threatened him with arrest and subjected him to mental torture to coerce a confession implicating former Minister B Nagendra, senior government officials, and the State Finance Department in the scam. The FIR claims the ED offered Kallesh assistance if he agreed to their demands.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who oversees the Finance Department, and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, have vocally opposed the actions of the ED. On Tuesday, they led a protest alongside other Congress legislators, condemning the ED’s alleged attempts to pressure Kallesh into naming the CM and Dy CM in the scandal.
The FIR was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 3(5), 351(2), and 352.
