In fresh trouble for Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D.K. Shivakumar, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a disproportionate assets (DA) case against him and conducted simultaneous raids on 14 premises linked to him and his brother D.K. Suresh, Bengaluru Rural MP, on Monday. Raids were conducted on nine premises in the State, four in Delhi, and one in Mumbai.
In a statement, the CBI said the case pertains to “allegations of possession of DA to the tune of ₹74.93 crore in his name and in the name of his family members”. Searches have led to the recovery of cash of approximately ₹57 lakh and several incriminating documents, the CBI said. However, Mr. Shivakumar said the CBI had only found ₹1.77 lakh from his house and he was not answerable to recoveries made elsewhere.
Emerging out after a 11-hour-long raid on his residence, Mr. Shivakumar termed it “political vendetta” in the run-up to the bypolls. “I’m not the one to be terrified of these tactics, or bow down to pressure. Let us work hard for the bypolls and give a fitting reply to the Bharatiya Janata Party,” he told party workers outside his house.
I-T raids in 2017
Trouble for Mr. Shivakumar began with the Income Tax raids in August 2017, when he was herding Gujarat Congress MLAs in the run-up to a Rajya Sabha election in that State. Recoveries made during the searches — ₹8.59 crore unaccounted cash — at his Delhi residence led to a money laundering probe by the Enforcement Directorate, in which he spent over 50 days in custody in 2019. The ED that had uncovered more suspect transactions and assets had written to the CBI recommending a probe under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. On the request of the CBI, the Government of Karnataka had given its consent for a CBI probe on September 25, 2019. “The CBI had taken up a preliminary inquiry in March 2020 and filed a DA case on October 3, and conducted raids on Monday,” CBI sources said.
Several Congress leaders alleged political vendetta and misuse of agencies by the BJP “in another attempt to derail the party’s preparation for the bypolls”, as Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah put it. Sporadic protests were reported across the State, including in front of Mr. Shivakumar’s residence. Congress workers even tried to gherao CBI officials’ car as they left his residence.
However, the BJP was quick to distance itself from the raids. BJP State president Nalin Kumar Kateel said the CBI action was only a natural outcome of investigations against Mr. Shivakumar since 2017 and the party did not have anything to do with it. He condemned the Congress protests against CBI action. Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has curiously remained silent on the issue.
