By Ananya Pattnaik

Copyright pragativadi

The 59-year-old legislator, who represents the Karwar Assembly constituency in Uttara Kannada, was taken into custody late on Tuesday night after hours of questioning at the ED’s Bengaluru zonal office. He was produced before a special court later that night, which remanded him to one-day ED custody. The agency will seek an extension of his custodial remand when he is produced again in court on Wednesday.

Sail’s arrest is the second high-profile action against a Congress MLA in recent weeks. Last month, Chitradurga MLA K. C. Veerendra, popularly known as “Puppy,” was arrested by the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to illegal betting.

The case against Sail stems from a 2010 Karnataka Lokayukta investigation that uncovered eight lakh tonnes of illegally transported iron ore from Bellary to Belekeri port. The ED alleges that Sail, through his company Shree Mallikarjun Shipping Pvt. Ltd., in collusion with other entities and port officials, illegally exported about 1.25 lakh metric tonnes of iron ore between April 19 and June 10, 2010.

The Forest Department had already placed the consignment under a seizure order at the time of export. The total value of the illegal exports has been pegged at Rs 86.78 crore.

During searches conducted by the ED on August 13–14 across Karwar, Goa, Mumbai, and Delhi, the agency seized Rs 1.41 crore in cash from Sail’s residence and Rs 27 lakh from the office of Sri Lal Mahal Ltd. In addition, gold jewellery and bullion weighing 6.75 kg were recovered from the Sail family’s bank locker. Bank accounts containing deposits worth Rs 14.13 crore have also been frozen.

The ED’s action is based on a conviction order by the special court for MPs and MLAs in Bengaluru, which had previously found Sail and several companies guilty of illegal iron ore exports. However, Sail’s seven-year prison sentence was suspended by the Karnataka High Court last year, allowing him to remain out of jail until the appeal is decided.