BENGALURU: Enforcement Directorate officials, who are probing the alleged money laundering case against former minister and senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar, will question him for the third time on Monday. Sources close to the former minister said on Sunday that he held a series of meetings with legal experts in New Delhi and he is fully prepared to cooperate with the agency even if the questioning goes on for several days.
“In the last two days, the ED officials have questioned him for over 15 hours and he is fully prepared to cooperate with them even if the process takes several days,” sources said. Shivakumar and his supporters were disappointed after the ED rejected his request for a day’s time to celebrate Ganesha Festival with his family in Bengaluru on Monday.
According to sources close to his family, every year during the Ganesha festival, they offer a special prayer and ritual. For the first time, Shivakumar and his brother, and Congress MP D K Suresh will be unavailable. DKS’s mother Gowramma and his sister Manjula S will perform the prayers without them, sources said.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy backed the former minister by questioning the ED’s decision. “Gowri Ganesha is an important festival for Hindus. Shivakumar had asked for a day to observe this festival. However, ED officials denied him even this. If this is not a vindictive attitude, then what is?” the former CM tweeted.
Many senior Congress leaders, met Shivakumar in New Delhi on Sunday. They accused the Centre of targeting the ex-minister. The case against him is based on a charge sheet filed by the I-T department against him last year.