Will cooperate with ED in gold smuggling case: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday assured full cooperation with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in its ongoing raids at the educational institutions linked to him, as part of a money laundering investigation related to an alleged gold smuggling racket.

The ED is probing alleged financial irregularities and has searched 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 accounts linked to gold smuggling accused and Kannada actress Ranya Rao.

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.

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.

Ranya 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.

Ranya, however, will continue to remain behind bars.