Bengaluru, 09 September (H.S.):

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday searched 18 locations across Karnataka linked to Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi, his family members, associates and business interests after registering a fresh money-laundering case against him.

The searches covered residences and other premises in Bengaluru, Belagavi and Gokak. Properties connected to Jarkiholi’s daughter Priyanka Jarkiholi, Congress MP from Chikkodi, and his son Rahul Jarkiholi, a director of the Belagavi District Central Cooperative Bank, were among those examined.

Agency teams also searched premises linked to Y. Manjunath, a senior Excise Department official and Jarkiholi’s brother-in-law. Manjunath had faced ED searches in June in connection with a separate money-laundering investigation into alleged corruption in the Excise Department.

The ED clarified that Wednesday’s operation arose from an independent case and was not part of the earlier excise investigation. However, it remained unclear whether information gathered during the June searches contributed to the fresh Enforcement Case Information Report.

Premises connected to Jarkiholi associates Girish Sonwalkar, Raju Daragasheety and Vithal Parasannavar were also searched. Sonwalkar is a professor at the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences, while Daragasheety and Parasannavar are Gokak-based businessmen.

Officials were reportedly examining documents and electronic devices for possible evidence relating to overseas travel and fund transfers involving Indian and foreign entities. Investigators were also looking into alleged investments in a school in an African country and business interests in mining, sugar and real estate.

Jarkiholi served as Karnataka’s Excise Minister between 2013 and 2016, and his family has interests in the sugar and liquor sectors.

Security personnel, including local police and Central Reserve Police Force members, were deployed outside several searched properties. It was not immediately known whether Jarkiholi was present at any of the locations during the operation. The agency had not released further details about the allegations in the new case.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman