Not tax evasion, D K Shivakumar stares at more serious charges under Benami act

Rs 300 crore illegal assets are said to have been recovered during the raids.

Raids on Karnataka energy minister D K Shivakumar may land him in cases under the new Benami Transactions act, sources from the Income Tax department said. The raids that took place over three days were not the result of a mere income tax evasion case.

Ahead of the 2018 assembly elections in Karnataka, D K Shivakumar is likely to be charged under the Benami act. Raids at more than 64 locations in Karnataka and New Delhi have led the officials to believe that the case is more than mere tax evasion. D K Shivakumar, with declared assets of more than Rs 251 crore, is the second richest minister in the country. He along with his brother D K Suresh is the money and muscle men of the Congress not just in Karnataka.

The highest number of documents are said to have been recovered during the raids from D K Shivakumar's father-in-law's residence in Mysuru. A friend and businessmen in Hassan was also raided in connection with the case against Shivakumar. Incidentally, all those people raided find mention in D K Shivakumar's election affidavit of 2013. Names or companies of those raided by the IT department have been mentioned as people who either owe money or from whom D K Shivakumar has borrowed money in his election affidavit's 'monetary transactions' section.

The raids come at a time when Karnataka is gearing up for elections. The timing is peculiarly similar to IT raids against Tamil Nadu minister Vijaya Bhaskar. He too was raided days ahead of the much hyped R K Nagar bypolls, the seat that fell vacant after J Jayalalithaa's demise.

Given the huge amount of illegal assets uncovered during the raids, IT officials believe that D K Shivakumar may be the first big fish to be booked under the new Benami Transactions act. Ahead of the elections, that will come as a huge blow to the Congress in Karnataka that has so far been enjoying a favourable impression in the state.

OneIndia News