Congress troubleshooter DK Shivakumar arrested
NEW DELHI/ BENGALURU: Karnataka Congress leader and former Minister DK Shivakumar was arrested on Tuesday on charges of money laundering.
The Enforcement Directorate’s probe began after the Income Tax Department filed a chargesheet alleging money laundering. The I-T case was registered after sleuths found Rs 8.83 crore cash during search and seizure operations in August 2017 at various of his properties in New Delhi, including his residence in Safdarjung Enclave.
He was being grilled in a money-laundering case. appeared for the fourth time since last week before the ED on Tuesday morning. The ED has registered a case of money laundering on the basis of chargesheet filed by Income Tax dept.
Known as Congress’ favoured troubleshooter in Karnataka by the end of the day, however, he was arrested in connection with the money laundering case being probed by the investigating agency.
The ED has registered a case of money laundering on the basis of a chargesheet filed by the Income Tax Department. Shivakumar’s properties were also raided by the IT Department in the past even though the veteran leader has said that the case against him is ‘politically motivated.’
“After days of interrogation, without allowing even a day’s break for the festival, ED now cites non-cooperation to arrest @DKShivakumar. The ruling govt is using investigation agencies to oppress those opposition leaders who they think are a threat to their interests,” Mr Kumaraswamy’s tweet read.
Shivakumar tweeted: “I congratulate my BJP friends for finally being successful in their mission of arresting me. The IT and ED cases against me are politically motivated and I am a victim of BJP’s politics of vengeance and vendetta.
I appeal to my party cadre, supporters and well-wishers to not be disheartened as I have done nothing illegal. I have full faith in God & in our country’s Judiciary and am very confident that I will emerge victorious both legally and politically against this vendetta politics.”
“‘There’s no illegal activities that I’ve done. BJP leaders have said it on record, they’re going to harass me,” he had told news agency ANI. “I am willing to cooperate with the ED also because I know I am innocent.”
In a setback to Shivakumar, the Karnataka High Court last Thursday had declined to stay the summons issued by ED in December of 2018 to him in an alleged money laundering case.Dismissing the writ petitions of Shivakumar and four others for quashing the summons, Justice Aravind Kumar directed them to appear before the ED and face the inquiry on the alleged hawala transactions in violation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The other four petitioners are Sachin Narayana, Sunil Kumar Sharma, Anjaneya Hanumanthaiah and Rajendra, who are associates of the high-profile lawmaker from the Kanakapura assembly segment and a trouble-shooter of the Congress.
The alleged money laundering came to light after raids by the tax sleuths on the premises of Shivakumar in Bengaluru, Kanakapura and New Delhi on August 2, 2017 led to seizure of unaccounted cash worth Rs 8.59 crore and no evidence on its source.
Mr Shivakumar’s arrest follows that of his party colleague, former Union minister P Chidambaram, in a case involving media company INX Media. The Central Bureau of Investigation, which made the arrest last month after a day of dramatic developments, contended that he was not cooperating with the investigation.
A minister in the erstwhile Congress government headed by Siddaramaiah and a minister in the coalition government led by HD Kumaraswamy, Mr Shivakumar was summoned to Delhi on Thursday. The agency’s move came after the Karnataka High Court decided against the dismissal of the case and did not give him protection from arrest.
The 57-year-old left for Delhi the next day, insisting that he has no need to hide. The questioning started the same evening. But its continuation on Monday, the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, became a sore point. “I have not been able to perform puja for my father. I would celebrate Ganesh Puja with my children, but they did not allow me to do so,” Mr Shivakumar said, turning emotional.
The Income Tax had conducted raids on Mr Shivakumar in August 2017. Sources said they had recovered more than Rs. 300 crore in “undisclosed income”. The Enforcement Directorate moved in soon after and filed the money laundering case in September last year, naming Mr Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah, an employee at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, and others.(With Agency Inputs ).
