Mangaluru, March 3 – The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has filed a chargesheet before the Special Court for PMLA cases in Mangaluru against the accused, Bhimashankar Bilgundi and Mallanna S. Maddarki, in connection with an alleged scholarship scam at Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College (MRMC), Kalaburagi.
According to a press release issued on Tuesday, the chargesheet was filed on Monday. The case concerns the alleged diversion of scholarship funds intended for postgraduate medical students at MRMC during the period between 2018 and 2024.
The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR registered by the Kalaburagi City CEN Crime Police Station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code against Dr. S.M. Patil, Subash, a manager of Canara Bank, and others.
The agency's investigation revealed that the main accused, Bhimashankar Bilgundi, the then President of the Hyderabad Education Society, which manages MRMC, allegedly diverted scholarship funds credited to the bank accounts of postgraduate medical students.
He is accused of colluding with accounts section staff and Mallanna S. Maddarki, Office Superintendent of HKE Society.
The ED alleged that the accused collected blank signed cheques from students at the time of admission and later filled in the details and encashed them, thereby diverting funds amounting to Rs 33.34 crore and depriving students of their entitled stipends.
Search operations were conducted under Section 17 of the PMLA during April and May 2025 at nine locations in Kalaburagi, leading to the seizure of various incriminating documents.
During the course of the investigation, proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 6.72 crore were provisionally attached under Section 5 of the PMLA through Provisional Attachment Orders dated July 18, 2025, and September 4, 2025.
The attached assets include immovable properties allegedly purchased by Bhimashankar Bilgundi in the names of his sons, Rajkumar Bilgundi and Santosh Bilgundi, several of his bank accounts, and immovable properties belonging to co-accused Mallanna S. Maddarki.
The prosecution complaint has been filed for the alleged commission of the offence of money laundering as defined under Section 3 and punishable under Section 4 of the PMLA, 2002.
The ED stated that further investigation in the case is under progress.