The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday continued its searches at places linked to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara as part of the probe into alleged gold smuggling-linked money laundering case against Kannada actress Ranya Rao and others, official sources said.
According to sources, searches continued in Siddhartha Engineering College, Siddhartha Medical College and Siddhartha College in the state.
The ED sleuths on Wednesday raided 16 locations in the state under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) targeting hawala operators and accommodation entry operators who allegedly made 'fake' financial transactions into Rao's accounts.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, meanwhile, came out strongly in support of Parameshwara, calling him a 'clean and honest man'.
Defending his cabinet colleague, the state Congress President said, "he might have gifted around Rs 15-25 lakh to Rao during some family event or marriage, but that doesn't mean he encouraged her to indulge in illegal activities like smuggling."
"I spoke to Parameshwara, I visited him in the morning. He has given Rs 15-25 lakh, we are in public life, many run trusts. At a family event or marriage, gifts might have been given. Will an influential person like Parameshwara encourage her to indulge in illegal things like smuggling," asked Shivakumar.
The ED filed a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case a few months ago after taking cognisance of a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) complaint into a larger gold smuggling racket in India, including the case of Rao.
The ED sources said 'an educational trust' is suspected to have 'diverted' funds and made a payment of Rs 40 lakh towards the credit card bill of Rao, allegedly on the instructions of an influential individual.
Parameshwara on Thursday assured full cooperation with the ED in its ongoing raids at the educational institutions linked to him.
According to Parameshwara, ED officials visited three institutions and a university, including Siddhartha Institute of Technology and Siddhartha Medical College, seeking financial records from the past five years.
He said he has instructed his staff to cooperate and provide all necessary information to the ED.
"As a person who believes in the law of the land, I am prepared to cooperate with whatever comes out of their verifications or searches," he said.
To a query on allegations that Rs 40 lakh from his institution's account was used to pay Ranya Rao's credit card bill, Parameshwara declined to comment, saying he would respond after the investigation is complete.
He also refrained from commenting on speculation that he was targeted due to his Dalit background, and said he would address it if necessary in the future.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Deputy CM Shivakumar said, "If she (Rao) has done anything wrong, let her be punished in accordance with law."
"As far as Parameshwara is concerned, he is a law abiding citizen, he is the Home Minister of the state, we are proud of him, he is a big leader. He was party president for eight years, he has done a lot of service to the state. He has been an MLA since 1989 with me, he has been a Minister. He is a clean and honest man...he might have given a gift for marriage, that's all. He will answer."
Shivakumar said he met Parameshwara and assured him of the Congress party's full support.
"He is attending cabinet today," he added.
Rao was arrested on March 3 at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru after arriving from Dubai. Acting on a tip-off, DRI officials detained her and seized gold bars weighing 14.2 kg and valued at over Rs 12.56 crore.
Rao and co-accused Tarun Kondaru Raju were granted bail on Tuesday by a special court for Economic Offences in Bengaluru in connection with the gold smuggling case.
The court approved their default bail applications after the DRI failed to file a chargesheet within the stipulated period. Rao, however, will continue to remain behind bars.
Authorities have filed a separate case against her under the stringent Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA), a preventive detention law designed to tackle smuggling and preserve foreign exchange reserves.
Under COFEPOSA, individuals can be held without trial for up to a year based on suspicion of involvement in such activities.
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