Vijayendra, Nalin Kateel and others

Bengaluru: In a major development, Karnataka Police registered an FIR against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday over allegations of extortion linked to electoral bonds.

The FIR was filed by Tilak Nagar Police in Bengaluru, following directions from the Special Court of MLAs/MPs. Nirmala Sitharaman has been named the primary accused, with Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials as the second accused, Central BJP office bearers as the third, former Karnataka BJP MP Nalin Kumar Kateel as the fourth, and State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra as the fifth. State BJP office bearers have been listed as the sixth accused.

Charges have been filed under IPC Sections 384 (extortion), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention). The Special Court directed the FIR against Sitharaman and others for allegedly using electoral bonds for extortion.

Adarsh R. Iyer, Co-President of Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishat, is the complainant. The court ordered the FIR after hearing the case on Friday, with the next hearing scheduled for Oct. 10.

The complainant accuses Sitharaman, in collusion with others, of orchestrating an extortion scheme through electoral bonds, allegedly benefiting by over Rs. 8,000 crore. According to the complaint, the accused, aided by officials, extorted corporate CEOs and MDs through threats of raids and arrests, compelling them to purchase electoral bonds.

The complaint further claims that the extorted funds were funnelled for the benefit of the third and fourth accused, implicating BJP officials at various levels in an extensive extortion racket.