Karnataka Guv nod for ED to prosecute ex-Minister B Nagendra in ST Corporation scam
Bengaluru, Apr 9 (PTI): Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has granted permission to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute former minister B Nagendra in connection with the multi-crore scam in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.
"The Governor granted the ED sanction to prosecute former minister Nagendra on Saturday," official sources said.
A special court here had granted bail to the Congress MLA in October 2024, after he was arrested by the ED in connection with the scam.
Nagendra was arrested in July under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), along with other key accused identified during the investigation.
He had resigned as the Minister for Scheduled Tribes Welfare in June last year, following allegations of his involvement in the scam.
The ED had earlier said that Nagendra was identified as the primary accused and the mastermind behind the scam, allegedly orchestrating it with the help of 24 others.
According to the agency, under Nagendra’s influence, the Corporation’s account was shifted to the MG Road branch of a bank without proper authorisation. A total of Rs 187 crore—including Rs 43.33 crore from the State Treasury under the ‘Ganga Kalyana Scheme’—was deposited into this account in violation of government procedures and guidelines.
“These funds were subsequently siphoned off through multiple shell accounts and converted into cash and bullion,” the ED alleged.
The investigation also revealed that Rs 20.19 crore of the diverted funds was used to support a candidate contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Bellary constituency, as well as for Nagendra’s personal expenses.
The agency had earlier stated that it filed a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) in the case before a special PMLA court in Bengaluru, which has taken cognisance of it.
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Sensex, Nifty fall for 2nd day on selling in Axis Bank, Indo-Pak border tensions
Mumbai, Apr 25 (PTI): Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined sharply on Friday due to selling in Axis Bank and growing tensions along the Indo-Pak border following the terror attack at Pahalgam in Jammu & Kashmir.
Wiping out early gains, the 30-share BSE barometer tanked 588.90 points or 0.74 per cent to settle at 79,212.53. During the day, it dropped 1,195.62 points or 1.49 per cent to 78,605.81.
Falling for the second day, the NSE Nifty tumbled 207.35 points or 0.86 per cent to 24,039.35.
Experts said worries over growing geopolitical tensions after Tuesday's Pahalgam terror attack weighed on market sentiment.
All sectoral indices except for IT index closed in the red while midcap and smallcap indices dropped more than 2 per cent due to profit taking.
"Investor sentiment turned cautious amid escalating tensions along the Indo-Pak border. Mid and smallcap stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off, driven by their elevated valuations and growing concerns over potential earnings downgrades following a muted start to the earnings season," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
Among Sensex shares, Adani Ports, Axis Bank, Eternal, Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and NTPC were the biggest laggards.
Axis Bank declined over 3 per cent after the country's third largest private sector lender reported a sharp rise in loan loss provisions and a steep fall in the trading income for the last quarter of 2024-25. The bank's profit declined marginally in the March quarter to Rs 7,117 crore, from Rs 7,130 crore in the year-ago period.
However, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever and ICICI Bank were the gainers.
Despite Nifty opening at a higher level on Friday, geopolitical tensions with the neighbouring nation have led to the drop in the index, Ajay Garg, CEO, SMC Global Securities, said.
"In the last few days, Nifty has also revived to 24,000 points with FII buying, banking stocks rally, and expectations of a positive outcome from the US-India trade talks. Along with the geopolitical tensions, profit-booking by investors also added to today’s market drop," Garg added.
"The heightened geopolitical uncertainty has led investors to adopt a risk-off approach, triggering profit-booking after the recent sharp rally. Furthermore, the markets appeared slightly overstretched following the vertical rise, prompting traders to reduce exposure," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge tanked 2.56 per cent and midcap dropped 2.44 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, services dropped 3.11 per cent, utilities (2.96 per cent), realty (2.87 per cent), power (2.77 per cent), consumer discretionary (2.28 per cent), industrials (2.19 per cent) and capital goods (2.06 per cent).
IT and BSE Focused IT ended higher.
As many as 3,246 stocks declined while 719 advanced and 119 remained unchanged on the BSE.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi index, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled in the positive territory. Shanghai SSE Composite ended marginally lower.
Markets in Europe were trading higher.
US markets ended significantly higher on Thursday. Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.74 per cent, S&P 500 surged 2.03 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.23 per cent.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 8,250.53 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.50 per cent to USD 66.24 a barrel.
On Thursday, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex declined 315.06 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 79,801.43 on Thursday. The Nifty went down by 82.25 points or 0.34 per cent to 24,246.70.
