A special court in Bengaluru on Monday remanded former minister B. Nagendra to 14 days of judicial custody in connection with the alleged multi-crore Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam.
Nagendra was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on July 12 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, following an extensive search operation by the central agency in response to allegations of fund misappropriation.
A Congress Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Bellary (rural) constituency, Nagendra was produced in court after his ED custody ended on Monday. The agency did not seek further custody, and the court subsequently remanded him to judicial custody until August 4.
The alleged scam surfaced in May this year after Chandrashekhar, the accounts superintendent of the Valmiki Corporation, died by suicide at his residence, leaving behind a note alleging misappropriation of welfare funds.
In response, the Karnataka government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the allegations, while the ED launched a separate probe.
According to the ED, approximately ₹90 crore was illegally transferred from the Valmiki Corporation’s bank account to several unauthorized accounts.
