IT dept grills D K Shivakumar for three hours in alleged tax evasion case

News Network

January 3, 2019

Bengaluru, Jan 3: Senior Karnataka minister D K Shivakumar was on Thursday grilled for about three hours by the Income Tax department for alleged tax evasion, officials said.

Shivakumar, a frontline Congress leader in the state, was summoned for questioning as part of a "routine process" following searches at various properties linked to him on August 2, department sources said.

The minister had already appeared before Income Tax officials twice in July and August last year.

The searches were conducted after Shivakumar hosted 44 Gujarat Congress MLAs at a resort on the city outskirts to forestall alleged attempts by the BJP to poach them ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls which the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel won.

Last September, the Enforcement Directorate had registered a money laundering case against him and a few others for allegedly indulging in hawala transactions.

The Income Tax department had accused Shivakumar and his associate SK Sharma of transporting "huge" amounts of unaccounted cash on a "regular basis" through hawala channels with the help of three other accused.

The other accused are Sachin Narayan, Anjaneya Hanumanthaiah and N Rajendra.

Narayan is a business partner of Shivakumar and Sharma is the proprietor of Sharma Transports, which runs a fleet of luxury and passenger buses and provides transport services to various concerns and individuals on a rental basis, Income Tax department had said in its complaint.

Hanumanthaiah, an employee posted at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, was allegedly responsible for storing and handling unaccounted cash of Shivakumar in the national capital, it had said.

Rajendra, a caretaker at Karnataka Bhavan, also works for Sharma, apart from looking after the immovable properties of Shivakumar and Sharma, it said.

Unaccounted cash of about Rs 20 crore was seized during raids in New Delhi and Bengaluru last August, and Income Tax officials said the money was "directly relatable" to Shivakumar.

Shivakumar, however, claimed the Income Tax department was targeting him and not letting him "breathe", but asserted he would fight the case legally.

A special court had granted him conditional bail, in this case, some time back and will hear the matter again on September 20.

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JD(S) leader G T Devegowda backs CM Siddaramaiah in MUDA row, taunts HDK

News Network

October 4,2024

Mysuru: Chairman of JD(S) core committee and Chamundeshwari constituency MLA G T Devegowda on Thursday expressed his solidarity with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah saying the latter need not resign, while lambasting leaders of his own party and alliance partner BJP, including Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

In his speech during Mysuru Dasara inauguration he said that if persons against whom FIR is registered have to resign, many leaders from all the three parties, including Opposition Leader R Ashoka, will have to resign.

“All are sitting in glass houses... Since I know Siddaramaiah well, I am talking about him. At a time when mines and real estate are ruling politics, Siddaramaiah has survived in politics. He has never done any favour,” Devegowda said.

He added, “Allegations against Siddaramaiah are unexpected and accidental. If the Governor and Chief Justice order an investigation, it does not mean that he should resign."

He continued, asking, "Have they told Siddaramaiah to resign or have they asked to imprison him? When a person becomes a Central minister, he or she should realise their dignity and responsibility. Instead of recognising the good work done by Siddaramaiah, they ask him to resign. Will Kumarswamy (facing an FIR) resign? Should Siddaramaiah, who has become CM with a support of 135 MLAs, resign?"

"Opposition leaders are not remembering the good work of earlier CMs Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Veerendra Patil, Ramakrishna Hegde, H D Deve Gowda or S M Krishna. Karnataka is a model state. It is a bad trend to topple an elected government which is doing good work,” he further said.

Devegowda added, “Siddaramaiah is Goddess Chamundeshwari’s ‘Varaputra’ and hence has her blessings during tough times. He won the election in Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency, when the BJP-JD(S) government was in power in 2006. With the blessings of the Goddess, he has held varied positions right from becoming an MLA for the first time in 1983. He presented 15 budgets and has become CM for a second time. He took H C Mahadevappa, a Dalit leader to the state level. Siddaramaiah has the support of Deputy CM D K Shivakumar as ‘Jodeththu’. Blessings of the beneficiaries of guarantee schemes are with him (Siddaramaiah).”

Siddaramaiah said, “Devegowda was a MUDA member. He knows the truth. Hence, he is saying this. His words have filled strength in me. ‘Satyameva Jayate’, Truth will always triumph.”

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