Five individuals have been arrested in connection with the illegal transfer of over ₹2.47 crore from the Bagalkote tourism department, according to a police officer. This brings the total number of arrests in the case to 19. The Central Economic Crimes (CEN) police made the latest arrests on Wednesday, and the case is set to be handed over to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation.

Inspector M Naga Reddy of the Bagalkote CEN police stated that the case was registered on July 11 following a complaint by tourism officers. The accused have been charged under the Indian Penal Code and have been remanded to judicial custody. The investigation is ongoing, with further revelations anticipated.

The case, spanning from 2021 to 2024, involved illegal transfers to 33 accounts across 54 transactions. Key individuals implicated include Suraj Sagara, a contract sales executive at Bagalkote IDBI Bank, and several bank employees: assistant managers Nisha and Saraswati, public relations officer Vidyadhara Hiremath, and loan department assistant manager Rohit. Additionally, 14 people who deposited money into these accounts have been arrested.

The modus operandi involved account holders depositing funds in return for commissions ranging from 30% to 50%. These funds were then diverted by Suraj Sagara and other bank staff, who illicitly redistributed the money. The arrested suspects are being interrogated to uncover further details.The investigation has revealed that the fraudulent activities extended beyond the tourism department, affecting multiple departments. The total fraud detected has now reached ₹6 crore, including ₹79.75 lakh from the minority welfare department, ₹86.40 lakh from the panchayat raj engineering department, ₹18.15 lakh from the handloom and textile department, and ₹1.76 crore from the backward class welfare department.