The Income Tax (I-T) department’s raid at the premises of Karnataka Energy Minister DK Shivakumar and his associates has entered Day 3. As no official communication is available from the I-T department, the details of money seized, if any, remains unclear.
Since the raid began, there have been several media reports that claimed that more than Rs 10 crore were seized from DK Shivakumar’s house and other locations. The Congress, which had been on the back foot since the raid began, bounced back when the leaked I-T department document surfaced.
The leaked panchanama document of the I-T department showed that no cash was recovered from one of the houses in Sadashivanagar. Several Congress party leaders went on to claim that all the reports on large sums of money being seized were also false, showing the document.
On verification, it was found that the document didn’t have details of the raid on DK Shivakumar’s Sadhavshivnagar residence, but instead showed details of the raid carried out at a rented house belonging to his brother DK Suresh. The house in RMV extension was away from DK Shivakumar’s residence.
Section 5 of this document, which details articles recovered during the raid, had only book of account listed (ledger). What is interesting is that Congress leaders were using this as a proof – the document showed that proceedings of Wednesday’s raid ended at 10:45 pm, whereas the raid at Shivakumar’s house is still underway.
When The Quint contacted one of the witnesses named in the document, he said he was the owner of the house. He had rented it out to DK Suresh 11 months ago. According to him, on Wednesday, I-T sleuths reached the house at 7:15 am and summoned Suresh as his house was locked.
Though the Congress’s claim that no money was seized during the raids falls flat, the fact that money is being seized is not proven either. When asked, the I-T department refused to comment on the details of the raids till Wednesday.
(We all love to express ourselves, but how often do we do it in our mother tongue? Here's your chance! This Independence Day, khul ke bol with BOL – Love your Bhasha. Sing, write, perform, spew poetry – whatever you like – in your mother tongue. Send us your BOL at bol@thequint.com or WhatsApp it to 9910181818.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)