Dharmasthala: Enforcement Directorate starts investigation into possibilities of foreign funds stoking unrest

New Delhi/Bengaluru/Thiruvananthapuram: Amid twists and turns in the Dharmasthala case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has started a preliminary investigation into the possibilities of foreign funds being used to trigger communal tension using the controversy surrounding the episode.

While officials said the agency has initiated the preliminary investigation under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said in Bengaluru that he wasn’t aware of the ED beginning a probe into alleged funding in the ‘mass burial’ case.

ED officials said investigators are examining various aspects and if they find dubious funding used to create a communal narrative, action will be taken.

The ED is gathering information by examining documents related to entities, including NGOs, that could have used “dubious” funds for creating tension in society.

With the ED joining the probe, a YouTuber from Kerala could come under the scanner as he was allegedly involved in making fake allegations over Dharmasthala.

Abdul Manaf, from Kozhikode, has been posting videos about the the search for bodies in Dharmasthala. He was accompanying Kannur native Anish Joy, who had raised suspicions over his father’s death in an accident in 2018 near Dharmasthala. There are also allegations that Manaf may be behind complainant Sujatha Bhat raising allegations.

Suspicion

Manaf told a section of the media that though he was born in Kerala, he was brought up in Karnataka, where his father was a prominent Congress worker. Moreover, he claimed to have noticed mysterious happenings at Dharmasthala and “owing to his attachment to the people in the state”, he was following the Dharmasthala case closely. He also said he was ready to face any punishment if he was found to be involved in any conspiracy.

Manaf was in the news last year after his lorry went missing in the Gangolli river at Shirur following a landslide in which lorry driver Arjun was killed. Then, too, Arjun’s family had accused Manaf of accepting funds by highlighting the tragedy of Arjun’s family and trying to increase his YouTube channel’s popularity.

In Bengaluru, reacting to the ED’s decision, Parameshwara said, “Their angle will be different. I don’t know what their terms of reference for the investigation are.”

Responding to a query on the BJP’s demand for an NIA probe, the home minister sternly reiterated that it won’t happen.

“The chief minister and I have said several times that there is no need for an NIA probe. The SIT is doing its job. We won’t hand over the investigation to the NIA. Till the SIT investigation is complete, we won’t say anything else. It appears that their [BJP’s] intention is to hamper the SIT probe,” the home minister said.

“The question of transferring the probe to a different agency arises only when there are errors or mistakes in the probe. The SIT hasn’t made any mistakes,” he added.

Parameshwara said that SIT chief Pronab Mohanty doesn’t always meet him solely to discuss the SIT probe.

“He also heads the Internal Security Division (ISD). SIT is one part of his duty. Other matters will also be discussed [during the meetings],” Parameshwara added.

The question of transferring the probe to a different agency arises only when there are errors or mistakes in the probe. The SIT hasn’t made any mistakes.

CM: It’s BJP’s political yatre CM Siddaramaiah said the BJP leaders who are terming the alleged mass burial case a conspiracy to defame Dharmasthala are even supporting reinvestigation in Soujanya case which is against Dharmadikari Veerendra Heggade. He accused the BJP of doing politics.

Complaint against YouTubers

Activist Prashant S Sambaragi has submitted a complaint to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) alleging that YouTubers interviewed complainant witness in the ongoing Dharmasthala mass burial case despite the witness being protected under the Witness Protection Scheme.