Travel curbs on Karnataka minister Nagendra relaxed in Valmiki scam case

Nagendra was again inducted into the Cabinet on August 3.

The Enforcement Directorate has requested the high court to cancel Nagendra’s bail, and that plea is pending adjudication.

Senior advocate K N Phanendra, appearing for the minister, argued that owing to his position, Nagendra would have to travel beyond the state and that it would be inappropriate to file applications seeking permission.

Additional Solicitor-General Aravind Kamath, however, argued that Nagendra had been seeking travel permission from the trial court for the last two years and should have approached that court to seek relaxation of the bail condition.

The high court also clarified that Nagendra cannot travel outside the country without the trial court’s permission.

Accounts officer’s suicide led to investigation

The Valmiki corporation scam surfaced on May 26, 2024, after an accounts officer in the corporation died by suicide following the alleged disappearance of a portion of Rs 187 crore deposited from the state treasury and other bank accounts in a new account opened for the corporation in Union Bank of India’s M G Road branch in Bengaluru.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the police found that funds from the ST corporation were siphoned into 18 primary accounts in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. These accounts were allegedly established by Satyanarayana Verma, who, along with his associates, is also accused in a similar scam in Chhattisgarh in 2022. The funds were then allegedly routed to over 170 secondary accounts, from which the money was withdrawn.

The SIT was still investigating the roles of Nagendra and Basanagouda Daddal, then chairman of the corporation and a Congress MLA, when the Enforcement Directorate initiated its money laundering investigation against them.