ED writes to Karnataka Governor, Lokayukta over alleged scam in KOMUL hiring
Bengaluru (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has written to the Karnataka governor and the Lokayukta seeking registration of an FIR and independent probe into "systematic rigging" of a 2023 recruitment process in the Kolar-Chikkaballapur District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited (KOMUL) led by a Congress MLA under investigation in a money laundering case.
Official sources told PTI that the alleged 'cash-for-jobs' racket was unearthed by the federal agency during searches conducted by it in January against K Y Nanjegowda, a Congress MLA from Malur seat in Kolar district, and his associates.
They were raided as part of a money laundering investigation into an alleged illegal allotment of government land worth Rs 150 crore to ineligible persons.
The alleged recruitment scam pertains to September, 2023 when KOMUL announced hiring for 81 positions through a written test conducted by the Mangalore University.
The recruitment process, as per the ED, comprised a written test (85 per cent weightage) followed by an interview (15 per cent weightage) by a recruitment committee that was headed by KOMUL Chairman Nanjegowda, a director of the KOMUL board K N Nagaraj, Additional registrar from the cooperative department Lingaraju, a representative of the Karnataka milk federation B P Raju and KOMUL MD Gopala Murthy.
According to the ED, 320 candidates were chosen for interview in December, 2023 and a final list of 75 selected candidates was approved by the KOMUL board. These candidates were later sent for training "without" publishing the results.
The agency, as per official records, has shared "evidence" seized by it like "tampered" OMR sheets, loose sheets containing names of the candidates and money collected from them, "referrals" received from politicians for selection of their favoured candidates and digital data containing phone calls and WhatsApp chats that was seized during raids at the University and the directors of KOMUL.
These findings and "evidence" have been shared by the ED last back with the Karnataka Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the Mangalore University, and the state Lokayukta establishment for registration of a FIR and conduct of an independent investigation, the sources said.
The Governor is understood to have written to the state authorities for a probe into these findings and allegations made by the ED.
The investigation, the ED claimed, has unearthed "systematic rigging" of the entire recruitment process at KOMUL and Nanjegowda has emerged as the "central figure" in this "illicit cash-for-jobs" case.
The agency, after the January searches against the Congress MLA, had issued an official statement claiming it unearthed a "scam" in a recruitment exercise of the KOMUL.
"It was noticed that recruitment committee of KOMUL chaired by K Y Nanje Gowda and four other members completely manipulated the interview process."
"According to the board decision, orders were issued to the selected candidates and they were sent to training without making the final result public," the agency had said.
It was "admitted" by the directors of KOMUL and members of recruitment committee during the searches that seats were sold for money ranging between Rs 20-30 lakh per seat, the ED claimed.
It is also gathered that certain politicians have referred their candidates for selection and total of 30 such references were accommodated, it said.
"K Y Nanje Gowda being the head of the recruitment committee is actively and directly involved in sale of seats and manipulation of interview marks," it said.
As per KOMUL, it is Karnataka's second highest milk producing district organisation.
The ED in its report sent to the governor and the Lokayukta has alleged that the then Mangalore University registrar (evaluation), who was in-charge of the written examination, "did not follow" the prescribed procedure of taking approvals from the Vice Chancellor for conducting the exam, outsourcing of printing and evaluation work, selection of exam centres, safety of OMR sheets and confidentiality of results among others.
It claimed in its report that the VC of the Mangalore University "acknowledged" the "gross misconduct" done by the registrar (evaluation) in "manipulating" this KOMUL recruitment process as he (VC) wrote to state government authorities urging them to take cognisance of these irregularities.
It claimed that the interview process was "manipulated" and officials of the KOMUL "admitted" to these allegations during the questioning and recording of their statement under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The agency stated in its report that a director of KOMUL has "admitted" to receiving Rs 80 lakh as part of this alleged recruitment scam while the former registrar (evaluation) and a private person accused of tampering OMR sheets also "admitted" to have received Rs 6 lakh each out of the total Rs 20 lakh promised to them by KOMUL authorities.
"Evidence gathered during the investigation found the sale of seats in lieu of money and accommodation of candidates referred by certain politicians allegedly in lieu of money by manipulating their marks over the deserving candidates who were awarded poor marks," the ED said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
===================
The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
