The former Karnataka minister B. Nagendra has been sent to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till July 18 in connection with the multi-crore scam in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation Limited (KMVSTDC). Nagendra was arrested by the ED after a 40-hour raid and appeared before a special court judge, where he mentioned health issues. The judge instructed the ED to give him 30 minutes of rest during questioning and conduct a daily medical examination. The state BJP President, BY Vijayendra, stated that the matter won't be confined to Nagendra's arrest as bigger players will also be arrested. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar called Nagendra's detention unnecessary as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is already looking into the case. The CBI is also investigating the case. The SIT has already arrested 11 people, including senior officers of the Union Bank of India, board officials, middlemen, and associates of Nagendra and KMVSTDC Chairman and Congress MLA Basanagouda Daddal. The alleged irregularities were exposed after a senior employee of the board, Chandrasekaran, committed suicide and mentioned the role of a minister and the illegal transfer of funds meant for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes. [297d2f6b]
In a separate development, former chief justice of the Patna High Court, L Narasimha Reddy, has withdrawn from the one-man Commission of Inquiry set up by the Telangana government to investigate alleged irregularities in the power sector during ex-chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's tenure. The Supreme Court allowed the Congress-led State government to replace Justice (retd) Reddy in the Commission of Inquiry. The Telangana High Court had previously dismissed a writ petition filed by Rao seeking to declare the constitution of the Commission of Inquiry as illegal. [bf1672dc]