Bengaluru: Former Karnataka deputy chief minister and senior Congress leader, G. Parameshwara on Tuesday appeared before Income Tax (I-T) department authorities in Bengaluru in a case related to alleged auctioning of medical college seats.

Two medical colleges run by Parameshwara in Tumakuru and another run by former Congress legislator R.L. Jalappa in Kolar have been accused of auctioning off around 189 seats for prices as high as ₹50 lakh each.

“Parameshwara’s nephew (Anand) has admitted to the charges,” said a senior official in the I-T department, requesting not to be named. Parameshwara on Tuesday explained to the department that he has not been very active in the day-to-day functioning of the colleges and is unaware of any malpractice in admissions.

Officials estimate the size of the scam to be anywhere between ₹200-300 crore. Searches in as many as 30 locations across the state last Thursday led to discovery of cash worth over ₹5 crore and other property documents.

The official said that these colleges have to allot seats according to National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test or NEET ranks but instead devise a plan of getting students from other states to appear for the exams and interviews and later drop out at the last minute, leaving the college with the discretion to give out admissions to people of their choice or those willing to pay the price.

Parameshwara’s aide, Ramesh committed suicide a day after the raids began. The incident gave Congress an opportunity to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home minister Amit Shah-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre for allegedly misusing investigating agencies to silence and target political opposition. Senior Congress leaders like P. Chidambaram and D.K. Shivakumar have been arrested over charges of money laundering and are currently lodged in Tihar.

I-T officials said that the probe is ongoing and that it would take another week for it to compile all the information and then take a call on the next course of action against these colleges.