Rs 94.73 crore of Karnataka government funds diverted, Bengaluru police lodge FIR against Union Bank of India officials

According to the FIR, on May 22, when the corporation checked with Union Bank of India, they were informed that the passbook, cheque books etc were sent to the corporation’s office by post. However, Rajashekar in his complaint alleged that none of the above documents were sent.

As per the FIR, the corporation officials later found that signatures had been forged to illegally transfer Rs 94,73,08,500 to various accounts. The FIR further alleges that the corporation did not receive any intimation of these transactions, either through SMS or through the registered email ID.

On May 23, the irregularities were flagged before the chief manager of the M G Road branch, who immediately transferred Rs 5 crore to the corporation, the FIR states. Rajashekar said in the FIR that the corporation had sought CCTV visuals but the bank had not provided them.

On May 26, Chandrashekaran P, who was involved in auditing and coordinating with the bank, died by suicide, leaving behind a 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”.

A day later, the corporation wrote a letter to the Union Bank of India’s deputy general manager (east), asking that the siphoned amount be deposited back.

On Tuesday, Rajashekar filed a complaint at the High Grounds police station in Bengaluru, accusing six bank officials of the fraud. The police have named bank officials Manimekhalai, Nitesh Ranja, Rama Subramaniam, Sanjay Rudra, Pankaj Dwivedi, Suchishitha Raul, among others.

A case was registered under several sections of the Indian Penal Code on charges related to criminal breach of trust by public servants, cheating, forgery etc.

Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Wednesday that prima facie, irregularities have been detected. “The police have found that the money was diverted to 8-10 bank accounts,” he added.

Asked about Youth Empowerment, Sports and Tribal Welfare minister B Nagendra’s alleged role in the illegal transfer of corporation funds, Parameshwara said that the minister has denied his role and said that no such oral instructions were given from his end. The CID is further investigating the case, he added.

Meanwhile, the Opposition BJP continued to demand the resignation of the minister over the issue. BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said that the victim had blamed the department minister for his suicide. “He should be sacked immediately,” he said, demanding a judicial probe by a sitting high court judge into the incident.