Bengaluru: Close on the heels of the announcement of dates for by-elections for two assembly seats in Karnataka, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided 14 locations associated with Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar and his brother Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha MP, DK Suresh on Monday and recovered Rs 50 lakh cash.
The CBI launched the raids at around 6 am on Monday, and as the news spread, scores of supporters started gathering in front of his house.
The Congress leaders launched scathing attacks on the union government, with party General Secretary Randeeep Singh Surjewala terming it “raid raj” and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah terming it to be an effort by the BJP government at the Centre to derail the Congress party’s preparations for the bypolls.
Last year in September, the Karnataka Congress chief was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, based on a charge sheet filed by the Income Tax Department against him.
He was accused of routing unaccounted money through hawala channels with the help of others. Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Shivakumar was charged with tax evasion and ‘hawala’ transactions worth crores of rupees.