Valmiki Corporation scam: 16 kg gold, Rs 2.5 cr cash seized from accused persons
Bengaluru, Jul 27: In a major breakthrough in the investigation into the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation scam, the Special Investigation Team seized 16 kg gold and Rs 2.5 crore from two accused.
Top SIT sources told PTI on Saturday that the raid was recently carried out and 15 kg gold was found from Satyanarayana Varma’s house.
Varma had also confessed that he had purchased the ultra-luxury Lamborghini car with the money obtained from the crime.
SIT sources said one kg of gold was found from Kaki Srinivas Rao.
Both were arrested earlier this month as the investigation intensified.
ALSO READ: Byrathi Suresh reveals list of JDS-BJP leaders with MUDA site allotments
This apart, Rs 2.5 crore cash was also recovered from a builder, whom Varma had allegedly paid to purchase a luxurious flat.
"The builder was contacted and he immediately returned the amount, which has been seized," the sources added.
Valmiki Corporation scam is said to involve about Rs 187.33 crore where the money kept in different accounts including Rs 40 crore in the government treasury was diverted towards the Union Bank of India’s MG Road branch.
Of the Rs 187.33 crore, Rs 88.63 crore was illegally transferred to at least 217 different bank accounts in Telangana including 18 firms.
Former Minister B Nagendra, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, is in the judicial custody in connection with the case.
The scam came to light after the Accounts Superintendent of the Corporation Chandrasekharan P died by suicide.
In his suicide note, he had explained in detail how the money was transferred and the role of the Corporation and the bank officials in the scam.
The opposition BJP has accused the ruling Congress of being involved in the scam. They have alleged that the transfer of money could not have happened without the knowledge of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The Chief Minister has rubbished the allegation and said he had no information about it.
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.
US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
