Bengaluru: The Bengaluru police has registered a First Information Report (FIR) on Saturday against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and other BJP leaders for the alleged 'irregularities' concerning the electoral bonds.
A top police source confirmed to DH that the FIR was filed on Saturday late in the afternoon at the Thilaknagar police station in the southeastern division of the Bengaluru police. The police initiated the action after they received the court order, the source said.
A special court for cases involving elected representatives on Friday had directed the jurisdictional police to initiate an investigation. Police have invoked Sections 384 (punishment for extortion) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), senior officers confirmed.
The FIR followed a private complaint by Adarsh R Iyer, co-president of Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath (JSP) alleging criminal conspiracy and extortion compelling entities and individuals to buy electoral bonds in favour of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The FIR named Sitharaman, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), office bearers of the BJP and others at the Centre, BJP Karnataka president B Y Vijayendra and senior leader Naleen Kumar Kateel, who was earlier the state BJP chief and MP from Dakshina Kannada, and office bearers at the state level and others.
While Iyer’s complaint before the court had BJP National President JP Nadda’s name, the FIR doesn't mention it.
Iyer has alleged that Sitharaman and ED officials “committed extortion under the guise and garb of electoral bonds and benefitted to the tune of Rs 8,000 crore and more.” He alleged that the “extortion” was committed in connivance with Nadda, Kateel, Vijayendra and other office bearers of the party at the state and national level.
He also claimed that Sitharaman used the ED to “conduct raids, seizures and arrests of various corporates, their CEOs, MDs, etc”.
“Fearing the raids, many corporates and moneybags were coerced and coaxed into buying electoral bonds worth several crores, which are encashed by Nadda, Kateel, Vijayendra and others. The entire extortion racket under the garb of electoral bonds have been orchestrated hand in glove with officials of BJP at various levels,” Iyer alleged.
In one instance, the complaint stated that Sterlite and Vedanta Company, led by Anil Agarwal, were subjected to raids by the ED on multiple occasions. Pursuant to this, Anil was made to buy electoral bonds worth Rs 230.15 crores during April 2019, August 2022 and November 2023. The complaint has produced documents with an analysis of electoral bonds purchased in favour of the BJP and the details of ED raids.
The complaint has also narrated the case involving another firm, Aurobindo Pharma, which, too, was subjected to raids, seizures and arrests by the ED officials. The complaint further said that pursuant to the raids, the Aurobindo Pharma group of companies purchased electoral bonds on January 5, 2023, July 2, 2022, November 15, 2022, and November 8, 2023, to the tune of Rs 49.5 crore.
The complainant had first approached the jurisdictional Tilaknagar police station with a complaint on March 30, 2024, and then approached DCP Bengaluru South East in April 2024. He moved the court with a private complaint when there was no action on this complaint.