The Enforcement Directorate searched the Bengaluru government residence, Gokak residence and premises linked to Karnataka Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi and his family over alleged illegal investments abroad, Prajavani reported on Thursday. The searches continued for about 36 hours, with cash and documents reportedly taken away by the agency.
The operation began on Wednesday morning at locations linked to Jarkiholi, his daughter and Congress MP Priyanka, his son Rahul, and Y.D. Manjunath, an additional commissioner in the Excise Department and Jarkiholi’s brother-in-law. Searches were also conducted at the premises of people described in the report as associates of the minister.
According to sources cited by Prajavani, an Enforcement Directorate team searching Jarkiholi’s Hill Garden residence in Gokak returned with Union Bank officials, two trunks, a cash-counting machine and a printer. The officials reportedly examined bank accounts held by companies whose directors include members of the Jarkiholi family.
The report said the agency seized cash and documents connected to alleged foreign investments by a mining company and a steel company. Some documents were taken away, while others were photocopied, according to the sources. Rahul Jarkiholi was reportedly asked to provide information about the companies’ overseas investments and to appear when called for questioning.
The total amount of cash seized from all locations was not available in the report. Satish Jarkiholi, however, said after the searches that around ₹2 crore had been found and that the money belonged to his family. He said the family had documents to support the cash and would provide them to the Enforcement Directorate.
“Whatever cash was found belongs to us,” Jarkiholi said, according to Prajavani. He also said the agency had not clearly explained the allegations behind the searches, denied wrongdoing and alleged that the Enforcement Directorate was being used against Congress leaders. These claims were not independently established in the supplied report.
The search at Jarkiholi’s Bengaluru government residence ended at about 6 p.m. on Thursday. The agency also searched the homes of associates, including Dr. Girish Sonawalkar, businessmen Raju Dharag Shetty and Vitthal Parasannavar, and personal assistant Malagouda Patil. Searches at those premises reportedly ended by Thursday afternoon, while cash and documents were also taken from locations linked to Manjunath and his assistant Preeti Kakatkar.
The Enforcement Directorate’s next steps, including any formal summons, statement or action based on the seized material, were not detailed in the supplied report.
