BENGALURU, 10 SEPT 

State Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday criticised the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the arrest of Congress MLA Satish Sail, asserting there was “no situation” to warrant his detention and claiming Congress leaders are being “selectively targeted” for political reasons.

Sail, 59, who represents Karwar in Uttara Kannada district, was taken into ED custody late Tuesday night following questioning at the agency’s Bengaluru zonal office, according to officials. He has been accused of money laundering in connection with alleged illegal iron ore exports in the state.

Shivakumar emphasised that the matter has been under investigation since 2010 and suggested the timing of Sail’s arrest appeared politically motivated.

This is the second recent arrest of a Karnataka Congress legislator by the ED. Last month, Chitradurga MLA KC Veerendra ‘Puppy’ was detained in a separate money laundering case linked to illegal betting.

The probe against Sail traces back to a 2010 Karnataka Lokayukta investigation, which found that approximately eight lakh tonnes of iron ore had been illegally transported from Bellary to Belekeri port, allegedly involving a company linked to him.