FIR filed against ED officers in Karnataka

Bengaluru, July 23: The Karnataka Police registered an FIR on Monday against two Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers involved in investigating the State Tribal Welfare Board case, officials reported.

The FIR was lodged by the Wilson Garden police station in Bengaluru following a complaint from B. Kallesh, former Managing Director of the Tribal Welfare Board and current Additional Director in the Social Welfare Department. 

According to the FIR, the ED officers allegedly threatened Kallesh with arrest and subjected him to mental torture, pressuring him to confess that former Minister B. Nagendra, higher government authorities, and the State Finance Department had directed him to deposit money into an MG Road Bank account. The FIR claims the ED officers promised to assist Kallesh if he agreed to their statement.

The Finance Department is headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

In response to the incident, Congress MLAs plan to stage a protest on Tuesday morning before the Gandhi statue in the Vidhana Soudha premises in Bengaluru. The protest is in opposition to the actions of the ED officials, who have been accused of harassing Kallesh to name Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and former Minister Nagendra, according to a statement from the Chief Minister's office.

The FIR includes charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 3(5), 351(2), and 352. It details that Kallesh was summoned by the ED on July 16 and attended the investigation at their office in Shantinagar, Bengaluru. During the investigation, Kallesh answered 17 questions, but required files and junior officers to answer three of them.

Assistant ED Director Murali Kannan recorded Kallesh's statements and instructed him to return on July 18 with the necessary documents and personnel. Kallesh alleged that instead of providing him with a copy of his statement, the ED posed additional questions. The ED officer claimed that the transfer of money from the state treasury to the MG Road Bank account was improper. 

Kallesh clarified that he had created the bill and deposited the amount on March 25, 2023, in accordance with government orders.

Kallesh further stated that the illegal transfers began on March 5, 2023, and he was not at fault. He alleged that the ED officers threatened to arrest him and warned that he would not secure bail for two years. Kallesh was then sent to senior ED official Mittal, who allegedly called him a criminal and reiterated the threat of a prolonged detention without bail.

Mittal purportedly told Kallesh that his statement was not useful and pressured him to write that the money was transferred under the direction of former Minister Nagendra and the Finance Department, insisting there was external pressure. The FIR claims that Kallesh was repeatedly coerced to agree to these claims under threat of a seven-year imprisonment.

The FIR further alleges that both Mittal and Kannan discussed arresting Kallesh and continued to pressure him to comply with their narrative. Kallesh requested police action against the ED officers for their threats and intimidation, asserting his innocence.

The Congress party has accused the ED of attempting to destabilise the Karnataka government. State Congress leaders have alleged that the ED is coercing the accused to implicate Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar in the Tribal Welfare Board case to undermine the state administration. State Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, alongside other Congress leaders, addressed a press conference last Thursday, condemning the ED's alleged tactics.