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ED raids K’taka institutes linked to min

By, New Delhi/ Bengaluru
May 22, 2025 07:22 AM IST

The institutes are managed by the Sri Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education, a deemed-to-be university where Parameshwara holds the position of Chancellor.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday carried out raids at 16 locations, including educational institutes linked to Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara and some hawala and forex dealers, as part of its probe into the Ranya Rao gold smuggling case, officials aware of the matter said. The ruling Congress in Karnataka termed the raids “politics of harassment, vendetta, and intimidation”.

The institutes are managed by the Sri Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education, a deemed-to-be university where Parameshwara holds the position of Chancellor. (HT Photo)
The institutes are managed by the Sri Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education, a deemed-to-be university where Parameshwara holds the position of Chancellor. (HT Photo)

On Wednesday morning, around 30 ED officers, divided into several teams, searched premises including Sri Siddhartha Medical College and Sri Siddhartha Institute of Technology (SSIT) in Tumakuru, as well as the Sri Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences near T. Begur in Nelamangala, on Bengaluru’s outskirts on Wednesday.

These institutes are managed by the Sri Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education, a deemed-to-be university where Parameshwara holds the position of Chancellor.

According to ED officials, their probe has revealed the minister’s trust paid 40 lakh to Rao’s credit card.

While ED is yet to release an official statement, an official aware of the matter said: “The trust has diverted funds and made a payment of 40 lakh towards the credit card bill of Ranya Rao, allegedly on the instructions of an influential individual”.

He added: “No supporting vouchers or documentation were found to substantiate this payment.”

Rao, the step daughter of former director general of police Murlidhar Rao, was arrested from Bengaluru international airport on March 3 with 14.2 kilograms of gold bars estimated to cost 12.56 crore. On May 20, a special court granted Rao default bail after the Directorate of Revenue and Intelligence (DRI) failed to file a charge sheet within the stipulated 60-day period. She will, however, remain in prison under other charges.

Since then, several central agencies - ED, DRI and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - are probing a larger conspiracy into the case, along with her links to politicians. The Opposition BJP had then accused the Congress government of complicity in the smuggling case after a picture of Parameshwara and chief minister Siddaramaiah attending Rao’s wedding were circulated online.

An ED official in New Delhi said some of the hawala operators raided have confessed to facilitating illegal foreign exchange payment for gold. “Several such people have admitted to dealings with Ranya Rao. The buyers have admitted to having bought gold from her and selling it to jewellers,” he said.

On the larger investigation into the smuggling case, another ED official said: “We have made significant progress in the gold smuggling case and several serious financial irregularities including layering of proceeds of crime have been identified.”

Asked about the raids, Siddaramaiah said, “I don’t know...I will check and speak.”

Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, meanwhile, backed Parameshwara. “No way my Home Minister is involved in any such case. He is a decent, simple man...,” he said.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said, “The ED actions undertaken at the behest of the prime minister himself reflect the politics of harassment, vendetta, and intimidation of which he is the master.”

Congress general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, described the raids as a “desperate attempt to cover up the corruption of previous BJP governments and stifle the voice of those who champion the voice of the oppressed”.

“The collection agent of Karnataka’s corrupt Karnataka government, @rssurjewal, should know this wasn’t a raid on an educational institution,” Karnataka BJP posted on X. “Media reports suggest it may have been an investigation into how much gold smuggler Ranya Rao invested in the institution.”

The party added: “If @rssurjewal truly cares for @DrParameshwara, he should ask @siddaramaiah — the very man who defeated Parameshwara in Koratagere in 2013 — to step down as Chief Minister.”

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