Kannada actress Radhika questioned by Lokayukta on Rs 2.5 crore loan to Minister

Bengaluru, Sep 1
Karnataka Lokayukta officials have questioned popular Kannada actress Radhika in connection with a Rs 2.5 crore loan allegedly given by her to Minister for Housing and Waqf Zameer Ahmad Khan.

Sources said on Monday that while probing the origin of the income of Minister Zameer, the Lokayukta sleuths obtained documents showing him receiving the said loan amount.

Actress Radhika, who appeared before the investigators, admitted that she had indeed given the loan to Minister Zameer about a decade ago and submitted a statement to the authorities.

She claimed that the money came from the profits of her Kannada movie 'Lucky', starring KGF fame Yash and popular actress and former Congress MP Ramya, produced under the Shamika Enterprises banner.

She said the funds were generated through box office collections and the sale of satellite rights to television channels. The Lokayukta has asked actress Radhika to provide documents to substantiate her claims.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had conducted raids on Zameer Khan’s residences and offices in Bengaluru in 2019 in connection with the IMA Ponzi scheme worth Rs 4,000 crore, in which thousands of people, mostly Muslims, were duped of their hard-earned money.

During the raids, ED officials reportedly gathered information on financial transactions involving him. At that time, Zameer Khan was a minister in the then Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had also lodged a complaint against Zameer Khan in this regard. However, after the ACB was abolished, the case was handed over to the Karnataka Lokayukta, which is now investigating the matter.

Further investigation is underway.

Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan is considered to be the right-hand man of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had conducted simultaneous searches at five places belonging to Khan on July 5, 2022. The raids were carried out based on the Enforcement Directorate (ED) report on disproportionate assets. Then, Zameer Ahmad served as the food and civil supplies minister in the H.D. Kumaraswamy government in Karnataka.