Bengaluru, 15 July

On the first day of 16th Karnataka Legislative Assembly’s monsoon session, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka named 18 companies where the proceeds from the scam at State-run Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation was allegedly transferred to.

The companies named by the BJP leader are Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd, YM Enterprises, Mannu Enterprises, Accord Business Services,  M Tech Software India Pvt Ltd,  Nitya Security Services,  Volta Technology Services,  V6 Business Solutions, System and Service Company, Ram Enterprises, Skillmap Training and Services Private Limited, Swap Design, GN Industries, Novel Security Services, Pimus Management Private Limited and Zeliant Training & Consulting Services, Sujal Enterprises and Grab A Grub Services Pvt Ltd. Most of the named companies have denied their involvement in the scam, saying the accounts mentioned by probe agencies don’t belong to them.

Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd, which deals with Product & Digital Engineering Services and AI, allegedly got Rs 4.53 crore, while Ram Enterprises, which provides logistics services, got Rs 5.07 crore.  Accord Business Services, which offers housekeeping and facility management services, got Rs 5.46 crore; YM Enterprises,  which is into mild steel, got Rs 5.46 crore, Swap Design, which is in electric battery swiping business, got 5.46 crore, cybersecurity company MTech Solutions (India) Pvt. Ltd got Rs 5.10 crore, Volta Technology Solutions, which provides support services to systems, got Rs 5.12 crore, GN Industries, which offers automotive battery plates, got Rs 5.01 crore and  mutual fund company Novel Security Services Pvt Ltd, got Rs 4.56 crore. All the companies are based of Bengaluru.

Ashoka delivered a two-hour long speech in the Assembly on Monday and produced 180 pages of documents related to the scam. He demanded a response from the ruling party and compensation for SC/ST people whose funds were looted.

Ashoka said, "One month after the scam came to light, the State government is yet to compensate the family of the accountant (Chandrashekhar P) who died by suicide under alleged pressure to facilitate unauthorised transfers under 'oral instructions' from a minister’s office."

Ashoka said, “The documents I submitted to the House contain all the details involved in the scam, highlighting the 'sweep in strip out' account transaction that shows the embezzlement."

The Opposition produced three letters as proof in the house, from Valmiki Corporation to Union Bank authorising Shivakumar to collect the passbook. However,  Ashoka claimed that Shivakumar is not an employee with the corporation.

Opposition BJP legislators in Karnataka on Monday staged a demonstration against Siddaramaiah-led Congress government alleging rampant corruption in the State. -Salar News with PTI