ED Searches Continue at Jarkiholi Family Homes in Karnataka

Enforcement Directorate officers carried out searches for a second consecutive day on September 10 at residences linked to Karnataka Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi, his family members and close associates, officials familiar with the operation said.

Among the premises searched were the homes of the Minister's children, Priyanka and Rahul, and of his brother-in-law Y. Manjunath, a Joint Commissioner in the Excise Department. Mr. Manjunath is the son of former MP Y. Devendrappa and is married to Mahadevi, the Minister's sister.

The searches also covered the houses, offices and commercial properties of three of the Minister's associates: Girish Sonwalkar, Raju Daragasheety and Vithal Parasannavar. Dr. Sonwalkar, a native of Mudalagi village near Gokak, teaches at the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences, while Mr. Daragasheety and Mr. Parasannavar are businessmen based in Gokak.

Officers additionally searched the homes of Malagouda Patil, the Minister's personal assistant, and Preeti Kakatkar, personal assistant to Mr. Manjunath. Both are private individuals and not government employees.

No searches were conducted at the homes or offices of the Minister's brothers Ramesh Jarkiholi and Balachandra Jarkiholi, both BJP MLAs, nor were there reports of raids at the residences of independent MLC Lakhan Jarkiholi or businessman Bhimshi Jarkiholi, the Minister's younger brothers. Ramesh Jarkiholi's premises had been searched by the Income Tax Department in 2017, when officers also searched the house of his close associate Laxmi Hebbalkar.

The operation, which began on September 9, has fuelled speculation in official circles that the Minister's family's alleged investments in the mining sector in Rwanda have drawn the attention of central agencies. Rwanda's High Commissioner to India, Jacqueline Mukangira, visited Belagavi in September 2024, touring the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, some government offices and the Belagavi sugar factory operated by the Jarkiholi family. During that visit, Satish Jarkiholi told reporters he was setting up a school in Rwanda.

Meanwhile, Congress members staged protests in Belagavi and Yamakanamaradi, calling the raids politically motivated. Demonstrators raised slogans against the Union government and alleged that the BJP was misusing central agencies to target opposition leaders. In Belagavi, Congress leader Ayesha Sanadi said the BJP was unnecessarily harassing Satish Jarkiholi, who she said had done no wrong. Sagar Kamble said the party stood firmly behind the Minister and expressed hope that he would come out clean. A group led by Mallikarjun Talwar and Basavaraj Nayak protested in Yamakanamaradi.