BENGALURU: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President DK Shivakumar on Monday appeared before the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in New Delhi, after he was summoned last week to depose before the agency in an alleged disproportionate assets (DA) case, registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The KPCC President, who had arrived at the ED office around 1pm, was questioned till late evening. Shivakumar was out of the ED office at 7pm.
In March 2020, the CBI had registered a Preliminary Enquiry case against Shivakumar and other individuals for amassing assets worth Rs 74.93 crore, which the agency alleged were in his and his family members’ names, and were disproportionate to their known sources of income.
The CBI had conducted raids at 14 locations -- nine in Karnataka, four in Delhi and one in Mumbai -- which were reportedly linked to Shivakumar and his brother and Congress MP DK Suresh, and allegedly recovered around Rs 57 lakh in cash during the searches.
The Congress leader, however, had contested the agency’s claim on the amount recovered from his residence. Shivakumar had appeared before the CBI in November 2020, and a second time in January 2021, to provide details in the DA case.
Shivakumar is facing a slew of cases by the Income Tax (I-T) Department and ED, in connection with alleged disproportionate assets. He was arrested on September 3, 2019, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Delhi High Court had granted him bail on October 23, 2019.
On Monday evening, he tweeted that he has “faith” in the judicial system. “One day, I will be proven innocent of all charges. Political vendetta and harassment is the price I am paying for speaking up for the people of Karnataka on issues such as unemployment and price rise.”
Last month, CBI had summoned KPCC secretary and Shivakumar’s close aide Vijay Mulgund for questioning in the DA case.Shivakumar had questioned the timing of the ED summons, with the Congress holding its ambitious 3,570-km ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and the Assembly session in Karnataka going on. The Bharat Jodo Yatra is led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who is currently in Kerala. The march will enter Karnataka on October 1.