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Karnataka Congress troubleshooter DK Shivakumar, arrested by ED, produced in court

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Karnataka Congress troubleshooter DK Shivakumar, arrested by ED, produced in court

Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar, arrested last evening by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after four days of questioning, was produced in a Delhi court today – Wednesday, Sep 4 – where the probe agency sought a 14-day remand for further interrogation.

The Enforcement Directorate acted after the Karnataka High Court refused to grant the Congress leader protection from arrest.

The ED said on his arrest that Shivakumar had been uncooperative and evasive. He was taken to hospital for a check-up, where doctors said his sugar levels were fluctuating. He was admitted in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi. Congress leaders, led by General Secretary KC Venugopal, were denied permission to visit him.

Congress leaders have called his arrest as ‘political vendetta’ by the BJP-led central government.

In the court, ED said Income Tax investigation and statement of various witnesses have revealed “incriminating evidence” against Shivakumar.

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The ED, alleging that Shivakumar tried to misguide probe, argued that custodial interrogation of Shivakumarwas necessary as some facts are in his personal knowledge.

It said Shivakumar is evasive, non-cooperative during probe. The ED claimed there was phenomenal growth in his income when he was in important position and it needs to confront Shivakumar with voluminous documents. It told the court custody was needed to unearth illegal properties.

Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for Shivakumar moves for his bail application and tells the court that the Congress leader had already been quizzed for 33 hours and that he is not a flight risk. Singhvi said unless the probe agency shows something startling has happened, Shivakumar can’t be sent to its custody as he never absconded.

Shivakumar’s arrest came in a case registered by the ED last year. It is the fall out of an investigation carried out by the income tax department against Shivakumar in 2017 where Rs 8.83 crore in unaccounted cash was found in New Delhi in locations linked to the Congress leader. The ED had in September last year registered the money laundering case against Shivakumar and others based on a chargesheet (prosecution complaint) filed by the Income Tax Department in a court here for alleged tax evasion and hawala transactions worth crores.

The Income Tax department accused Shivakumar and his aide of transporting huge amounts of unaccounted cash on a regular basis through ‘hawala’ channels with the help of three other accused. This was the time the Congress leader had arranged the stay at a Bengaluru resort of Gujarat Congress MLAs being sequestered before a Rajya Sabha election in which the party’s Ahmed Patel was facing a tough challenge from the BJP.

After his arrest, Shivakumarposted a tweet “congratulating” the ruling BJP for “finally” succeeding in arresting him.

The Congress has alleged political vendetta behind the action against Shivakumar, the party’s chief troubleshooter in Karnataka and at the forefront of efforts to keep the Congress-Janata Dal Secular coalition intact before an exodus of MLAs brought it down and led to the return of the BJP.

The Congress has threatened protests across Karnataka.Even when he was being arrested, his supporters first tried to block officers from taking him away and later resorted to blocking traffic and vandalizing buses in protest.

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Protests broke out in several parts of Karnataka following the arrest. Demonstrations and attempts to block roads by burning tyres were reported from Ramanagara, Chennapattana and a few neighbouring towns, where a shutdown has been called for by Shivakumar’s supporters. As a precautionary measure, the district administration has declared holiday for schools and colleges today.

“DK Shivakumar, being the strong and obedient Congress leader in Karnataka, was always a target of the BJP,” Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said in a statement.

Shivakumar, accusing the BJP of targeting him, tweeted shortly after his arrest: “I congratulate my BJP friends for finally being successful in their mission of arresting me. The IT and ED cases against me are politically motivated and I am a victim of BJP’s politics of vengeance and vendetta.”

The 57-year-old Congress leader also assured the workers of the party and his supporters that he had not done anything illegal.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said he was “not happy” with the arrest of the rival politician. “Let me tell you one thing, the arrest of DK Shivakumar did not bring me any happiness. I will pray to God that he will be out soon,” Mr Yediyurappa said.

The state Congress has called for a state-wide bandh following Shivakumar’s arrest in the money laundering case.

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Tax terrorism has to stop, says Congress after Income Tax Department issues fresh Rs 1,700 crore notice

The Congress has accused the BJP of squeezing it financially and of using tax authorities against it ahead of Lok Sabha elections beginning April 19.

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Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the Congress’ financial woes worsened once again with the Income Tax Department issuing a fresh Rs 1,700 crore notice. The tax department issued the notice due to discrepancies in tax returns. 

The fresh notice is for assessment years 2017-18 to 2020-21 and includes penalty and interest. This comes a day after the Delhi High Court dismissed the party’s petition challenging the tax notices. 

The opposition party is already facing a funds crunch after Income Tax authorities imposed a penalty of Rs 200 crore and froze its funds. Furthermore, the party has not received any relief from the High Court in the case and is likely to approach the Supreme Court. The Congress has accused the BJP of squeezing it financially and of using tax authorities against it ahead of Lok Sabha elections beginning April 19.

Addressing a press conference, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said that the notices are being sent to cripple the party financially. Calling the action as tax terrorism, Jairam Ramesh said that this attack on Congress has to stop.

Earlier in February, the Income Tax department had found fault in the party’s tax returns and demanded Rs 200 crore. Subsequently, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) had asked the party to pay the dues and froze their accounts. The Congress stated the tax tribunal’s order freezing its funds was an attack on democracy as the order came just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal stated that this is a deliberate attempt by the Narendra Modi-led to bankrupt the Congress ahead of elections. He mentioned that the timing of the penalty notice, following the Delhi High Court’s dismissal of Congress petitions challenging tax reassessment proceedings, reeks of political vendetta.

He underlined that while political parties are typically exempt from taxes, this penalty is allegedly due to delayed filing of returns. He asserted that it is a blatant move by the Modi government to cripple the Congress financially, especially during the elections. He further asserted that in response to the notice, the Congress plans to stage a nationwide protest, condemning BJP’s exploitation of central agencies to target opposition parties. 

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Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, Tejashwi Yadav mourns demise of Mukhtar Ansari, demand probe

Akhilesh Yadav mentioned that such doubtful cases should be investigated under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge.

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Mukhtar Ansari, gangster turned politician, who has been in jail since 2005, died due to cardiac arrest on Thursday. After Ansari’s death, his family alleged that the politician had been poisoned in the jail.  

Expressing sorrow, several opposition leaders demanded a probe into the death of Mukhtar Ansari. Notably, the gangster turned politician submitted an application in Barabanki court, alleging he was given some poisonous substance along with his food. He claimed that on March 19, his nerves and limbs started paining after he consumed the food.

Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav wrote on X that a few days ago Mukhtar Ansari complained that he had been poisoned in jail, yet it was not taken seriously. He added that prima facie the move does not seem justifiable and humane. He stated that constitutional institutions should take suo motu cognizance of such strange cases and incidents.

Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Samajwadi Party Chief, Akhilesh Yadav said that the state is going through the worst phase of government anarchy. He added that it is the responsibility and duty of the government to protect someone’s life in every situation and at every place. 

The former Chief Minister added that the death of a hostage or prisoner while being confined in the police station, in a fight inside the jail, on falling ill inside the prison, while being taken to court, while being taken to hospital or during treatment in hospital will erode public confidence in the judicial process. He mentioned that such doubtful cases should be investigated under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge. He claimed that the way the government bypasses the judicial process and adopts other methods is completely illegal. 

Taking to social media platform X, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati said that the persistent apprehensions and serious allegations made by Mukhtar Ansari’s family regarding his death in jail require a high-level investigation so that the facts in his death can be revealed. 

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said that the people of Ghazipur lost their favourite son and brother. He added that Mukhtar Ansari had made serious allegations against the administration that he was poisoned, but the government did not pay any attention to his treatment.

Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput stated that custodial deaths and firing in jail has become very common in Uttar Pradesh. He added that high level investigation should be conducted.

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Uttar Pradesh on high alert after gangster turned politician Mukhtar Ansari death, probe ordered on poisoned in jail charge

Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP), Prashant Kumar said that as a precautionary measure, Section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed across the state.

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Several towns in Uttar Pradesh are on high alert and security has been strengthened after jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died of cardiac arrest. His family alleged that the gangster, who has been in jail since 2005, was poisoned. 

The jailed gangster was hurried to a hospital after he fell unconscious at district jail on Thursday night. After a few hours, he was declared dead by the doctors at the Rani Durgavati Medical College. 

Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP), Prashant Kumar said that as a precautionary measure, Section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed across the state. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has also been called in to assist the police. Reportedly, the CRPF units have already been deployed in Banda, Mau, Ghazipur, and Varanasi.

Additionally, the social media cell of the Uttar Pradesh Police is also on high alert to track unlawful elements that may try to spark a riot. Furthermore, a magisterial investigation into the death of Mukhtar Ansari will be carried out by a three member team, reports said.

A former five-time MLA from Mau Sadar seat Muktar Ansari, had 60 criminal cases pending against him. The gangster turned politician was sentenced in eight cases since September 2022 by different courts of Uttar Pradesh and was lodged in the Banda jail.

Earlier, the former five-time MLA from Mau submitted an application in Barabanki court, alleging he was given some poisonous substance along with his food. He claimed that on March 19, his nerves and limbs started paining after he consumed the food.

Muktar Ansari was born into a family with deep roots in the independence struggle. His grandfather served as the Indian National Congress president in 1927. He was initially affiliated with the Bahujan Samaj Party before forming the Quami Ekta Dal (QED) after being expelled.

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