More IT raids on Shivakumar

Cash and jewellery worth over ₹15 crore have so far been seized by I-T authorities as part of the ongoing searches at multiple premises linked to Karnataka energy minister DK Shivakumar and his associates in connection with a case of alleged tax evasion. The minister has also been confronted with certain documents seized by the sleuths during the raids.

NEW DELHI: The Income Tax department continued its searches on Karnataka energy minister D K Shivakumar’s properties in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mysore for the second consecutive day on Thursday, a move that has triggered a political storm, with the Congress accusing the BJP of witch-hunt ahead of Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel is locked in a tight contest for the third seat from Gujarat due to rebellion by six party MLAs who resigned and apprehension of a few more joining them.

Shivakumar was looking after 42 Congress MLAs from Gujarat who have been shifted to a luxury resort near Bengaluru to avoid a break in their ranks.

I-T officials said that since the search operation was still on, there was no clear estimate of the total amount seized. Search papers from Bengaluru revealed that no cash was seized in the raids till Wednesday night.

“Searches are still on and it is difficult at this point to give an estimate of how much more will be recovered,” said a senior official of the department.

The department said the search is a continuation of an investigation which has been in progress for a considerable period of time and its timing was decided well in advance. “This is part of our operation against black money…there is no other agenda,” the official added.