Income tax officials raided the Delhi residence of Karnataka minister D.K. Shivakumar on Wednesday and seized at least ₹5 crore in cash, according to officials in the Income Tax Department.
“₹5 crore has definitely been found in cash, but counting is still on and could be as much as ₹7.5 crore,” the official told The Hindu on the condition of anonymity as the investigation was still on. “This was all from his Delhi residence. There are no numbers yet on what has been seized, if anything, from other raids in other parts of the country.”
While the Opposition has asserted that such raids are a result of the government’s misuse of its power to harass Opposition party members, the Income Tax Department has said that there was no political motive behind the raids on Mr. Shivakumar.
“There were no political orders regarding this raid,” the official added. “The investigative team has been planning this for a while. This is a part and parcel of investigations. Raids are carried out only when there is enough evidence to suggest there is some hidden income, etc.”
