ED attaches assets of Karnataka Congress MLA K Y Nanjegowda in KOMUL recruitment 'scam'

New Delhi: Assets worth Rs 1.32 crore of Karnataka Congress MLA K Y Nanjegowda have been attached in a case related to alleged irregularities in the recruitment for the Kolar-Chikkaballapur District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd (KOMUL) in 2023, the Enforcement Directorate said on Thursday.

Nanjegowda, the MLA from Malur seat in Kolar district, is the chairman of KOMUL.

The ED said the recruitment process was held by KOMUL and it consisted of a written exam and interview. It was "manipulated" in lieu of money and/or recommendation of political persons, the federal probe agency said.

The recruitment committee, led by Nanjegowda along with KN Gopala Murthy (KOMUL MD), conspired with other directors in the organisation and hatched a plan which resulted into favouring of certain less meritorious candidates and deprivation of the deserving candidates, the ED alleged.

A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach Rs 1.32-crore assets of Nanjegowda, it said.

The ED probe began in these alleged irregularities after it conducted raids in January against Nanjegowda and some others in a different case related to "illegal" allotment of government land worth Rs 150 crore.

The agency made a reference of the alleged irregularities in KOMUL hiring to the Karnataka Lokayukta Police and also filed a complaint before the special court for trial of MP/MLA cases.

The agency said it seized OMR sheets, both original and tampered, WhatsApp messages received from politicians recommending certain candidates and forwarded by Nanjegowda, and other directors to the staff of KOMUL, during the searches.

It claimed "procedural lapses" were observed in the entire recruitment process at KOMUL and also at the Mangalore University indicating efforts to hide irregularities.

The agency also claimed that admission by the directors and staff of KOMUL, Mangalore University Registrar Nagendra Prasad and certain candidates who were accommodated in the examination, has unearthed a "mega scam" in KOMUL recruitment during 2023.

A sum of Rs 1,56,50,000 was generated as "proceeds of crime" by manipulating the recruitment process both during the written exam and interview stages, in lieu of monetary benefit accepted from the candidates assuring them their selection in KOMUL, it said.

Nanjegowda emerged as the "principal architect" of the "scam", leveraging his role as Chairman of KOMUL to control the overall recruitment, the ED said.

Statements and evidence indicate that he played a "leading" role in fixing the number of "reserved" seats, orchestrating how bribes would be collected and directing the manipulation of written exam OMR sheets and interview scores to ensure recommended or paying candidates were selected, the agency claimed.

The MLA "illegally" enriched himself to the tune of Rs 80 lakh (out of the total proceeds of Rs 1.56 crore), the ED alleged.