Bengaluru: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday recorded the statement of Dr Girish Chandra Varma, who had reportedly presented the Hublot watch to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The CM himself had claimed earlier that it was Dr Varma who had presented the expensive watch to him.

According to ACB sources, Dr Varma presented himself before the investigating officials of the ACB and also produced a bill for the watch which could confirm that he had indeed presented the watch to the CM.

ACB officials said that they had summoned the doctor from Dubai who co-operated and recorded hi statement. Further investigations were underway.

Following the instructions for the ACB, head of ACB ADGP K V Gagandeep sought permission from the advisory board to start an investigation. He wrote to the Chief Secretary seeking clarification on how to take the case further and also took the opinion of the Advocate-General regarding the issue.

The enquiry in regards to the Hublot watch was undertaken by the ACB after a complaint was filed by advocate Nataraj Sharma against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in April seeking a probe into the issue.