Delhi court extends Shivakumar's judicial custody till October 25

New Delhi, Oct 15: A Delhi court on Tuesday extended till October 25 the judicial custody of Congress leader D K Shivakumar, arrested in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate. Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar sent Shivakumar to further judicial custody on the ED's plea after the accused did not oppose it.

ED's special public prosecutors Amit Mahajan, Nitesh Rana and N K Matta sought extension of his judicial custody, saying he could not be let free.

The court had on September 25 declined to grant Shivakumar bail noting that he was an influential person and if released, may influence the witnesses or tamper with documents.

The ED had in September last year registered the money laundering case against Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah, an employee at the Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, and others, the agency's advocate A R Aditya said.

The case was based on a charge sheet (prosecution complaint) filed by the Income Tax Department against them last year before a special court in Bengaluru on charges of alleged tax evasion and 'hawala' transactions worth crores.

The I-T department has accused Shivakumar and his alleged associate S K Sharma of transporting huge amount of unaccounted cash on a regular basis through 'hawala' channels with the help of three other accused.