Raids on Satish Jarkiholi continue amid protests across Karnataka against ED action on Minister

Bengaluru: Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids and searches at the residences and properties linked to Karnataka Public Works Department (PWD) Minister, Satish Jarkiholi, continued on Thursday evening amid protests by his supporters and various organisations across the state.

According to officials, Rs 3 crore was found during searches at properties belonging to Jarkiholi, his daughter and Congress MP Priyanka Jarkiholi, their relatives and associates.

Searches were continuing at 18 locations across Bengaluru, Belagavi and Gokak in Karnataka and in Goa.

Officials said foreign investments and mining-related transactions were also under the scanner. Information gathered during the searches has been sent to the ED headquarters, and further directions are awaited. Digital evidence has also been collected from the properties searched by the agency.

Bank officials and staff members have been called in to assist the ED in examining financial transactions and other documents as part of the investigation.

The searches at the residences and properties of Jarkiholi’s close aides Vittal Parasannanavar, Raju Dharaga Shetty and Malagouda Patil concluded on Thursday. However, the ED continued searches at four locations in Belagavi city.

The agency also searched the residence of Preeti Kakatkar, personal secretary to Excise Commissioner Y. Manjunath, who is Jarkiholi’s brother-in-law. Searches at Manjunath’s residence also continued.

Meanwhile, protests erupted in several parts of Karnataka in support of Jarkiholi and against the ED action.

In Bengaluru, supporters of properties allotted by the government staged a silent protest, holding placards that read, “Truth won’t die” and “We won’t bow down to ED threats.”

Valmiki Guru Peetha seer Prasannananda Swami visited the protest site and extended his support to Jarkiholi.

“Satish Jarkiholi is not an individual, he is a force. He has left an impact across the state and is an influential person in state politics,” the seer said.

He alleged that the raids and searches at Jarkiholi’s residences and properties since Wednesday were intentional and politically motivated.

“It is evident from the outset. The whole community and mutt will be on his side and to support him morally. I have come here to take part in the protest,” he said.

In Athani town of Belagavi district, Congress workers took to the streets and staged a protest condemning the ED searches. The protesters blocked the Sankeshwar-Vijayapura road and raised slogans against the action.

In Dharwad, Dalit organisations staged protests and raised slogans against the Central government, while in Gadag, leaders of AHINDA organisations protested under the banner of Manava Bandhutva Vedike.

The protesters in Gadag alleged that the ED action was politically motivated and targeted at Jarkiholi.

Meanwhile, Jarkiholi’s supporters have decided to stage a larger protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Friday, opposing the ED raids and searches.

The ED searches, which began on Wednesday, are part of an ongoing probe involving properties and financial transactions linked to Jarkiholi and people associated with him. The agency has continued examining documents, digital devices and financial records recovered during the searches.

IANS