CBI raids close aide of D K Suresh, others

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday raided five premises, including the house of Padmanabhaiah, who is personal secretary of Bengaluru Rural MP D K Suresh. Suresh is the brother of Congress leader D K Shivakumar. The raids were in connection with a 2017 case pertaining to illegal currency exchange post demonetisation. The raids were conducted in Bengaluru, Kanakapura and Ramanagaram.

CBI sources said Padmanabhaiah was a beneficiary of the illegal exchange of demonetised currency. Besides Padmanabhaiah’s house in T Begur near Nelamangala, the houses of Shivananda at Uttarahalli and Nanjappa in Kanakapura were raided. Shivananda is deputy tahsildar and in charge of the election cell in Kanakapura. Nanjappa is a first division clerk at the election cell in Kanakapura. Searches were also conducted at the election cell in the office of tahsildar Kanakapura town and district office at Ramanagaram.

The CBI had registered the FIR in April 2017 against B Prakash, chief manager of Corporation Bank’s Ramanagaram branch, for illegally exchanging Rs 10 lakh of demonetised currency in connivance with unknown persons. The FIR stated that the currency exchange had happened between November and December 2016. The accused had also tried to cover up this act by creating 250 fabricated requisition slips. Besides, they had also generated 120 duplicate voter ID cards. “The office of the Chief Electoral Officer on May 29 confirmed that the alleged voter ID cards, used for the illegal exchange of Specified Bank Notes, were generated from the election cell at the Kanakapura tahsildar’s office,’’ an official said.

“During the searches, incriminating materials pertaining to the generation of the duplicate voter ID cards used for the illegal exchange of Specified Bank Notes have been collected along with the hologram stock register. The suspected hard disk is imaged and seized,’’ the official said.

What is the case?

Investigation revealed that on November 14, 2016, Prakash and two others were in charge of cash remittance and receipt work. They left the currency chest branch on MG Road at 11.30 am with Rs 12.25 crore. At the end of the day, they had Rs 10.03 lakh excess cash.