The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches on properties associated with Ballari Congress MLA Nara Bharath Reddy in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu On Saturday. The raids, spanning six locations, included the MLA’s residences in Ballari and Bengaluru, an office in Chennai, his father’s office, his uncle Pratha Reddy’s residence, and his office.
Commencing at 6:30 a.m., the raids at Bharath Reddy’s Ballari residence involved a team of officers from Bengaluru overseeing the operations. The MLA’s family, known for owning granite quarry businesses in Koppal district and Andhra Pradesh’s Ongole district, is under scrutiny by the ED.
In a notable incident, Bharath Reddy had previously distributed pressure cookers across the city of Ballari on his birthday. Currently, four teams of ED officials are conducting simultaneous searches at four places in Ballari city. Bharath Reddy, a first-time Congress MLA from Ballari, enjoys proximity to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
The ED’s actions are part of an investigation into a money-laundering case against Reddy, triggered by an FIR filed by the Karnataka Police. Allegations of questionable land deals and the scrutiny of mining and quarrying businesses associated with the MLA are central to the ongoing probe.
The search operation encompasses Bharath Reddy’s residence, his father’s office, and his uncle’s residence and office in Ballari. Additional raids were carried out at Reddy’s Indira Nagar residence in Bengaluru and his office in Chennai.
In the Karnataka Assembly elections held last year, Bharath Reddy secured victory as a Congress MLA from Ballari, defeating BJP’s Somashekhara Reddy and KRPP’s Lakshmi Aruna.
