Karnataka BJP leader R Ashoka has accused the state government of failing to protect funds meant for Scheduled Caste development, citing an Enforcement Directorate prosecution complaint alleging that Rs 14.95 crore linked to the Dr B R Ambedkar Development Corporation was siphoned off through fake current accounts, forged documents and premature closure of fixed deposits.
Ashoka, the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, made the allegation in a social media post on Friday. He referred to an Enforcement Directorate press release dated October 14 and claimed that it disclosed another financial fraud under the Karnataka Congress government. The allegation follows the separate case involving the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, which Ashoka described as a Rs 187-crore case.
According to the ED release shared by Ashoka, the agency filed a supplementary prosecution complaint before the Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in Bengaluru on October 5. The complaint names five accused, although the supplied report does not provide their identities or describe the specific charges against each person.
The ED said its investigation began after an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Bengaluru. The FIR invoked various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, which the agency said were scheduled offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
Ashoka alleged that more than Rs 14.95 crore belonging to the Dr B R Ambedkar Development Corporation had been moved through fraudulent bank accounts and documents. He also alleged that fixed deposits were closed before maturity as part of the transaction. The report does not include the ED’s detailed account of the alleged money trail, the names of the accounts involved or the corporation’s response.
The BJP leader connected the alleged case to the wider question of whether welfare funds are being protected within state-run development corporations. He said money intended for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities had been diverted, and demanded accountability and transparency from the state government and the Congress leadership.
Ashoka also criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, asking why the party leadership had not responded to the allegations. He said the BJP’s Karnataka unit would continue pursuing the matter until those responsible were brought to justice.
The reported filing is a prosecution complaint before a special court and does not, by itself, establish guilt. The supplied report contains no response from the Karnataka government, the Dr B R Ambedkar Development Corporation or the Congress leadership to the allegations. The next formal developments will depend on proceedings before the Special Court under the money-laundering law.
