D.K. Shivakumar case: Karnataka Congress MLA appears before ED

Laxmi Hebbalkar was summoned for recording her statement in an alleged money-laundering case against her party colleague and others

D.K. Shivakumar, with Congress MLAs Lakshmi Hebbalkar (left), and M. Roopakala, during the monsoon session of Karnataka Legislative Assembly, at Vidhana Soudha, in Bengaluru on July 12, 2019.

Karnataka Congress MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar on Thursday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to record her statement in connection with an alleged money-laundering case against her party colleague D.K. Shivakumar and others.

In a statement given to the media in Bengaluru, Ms. Hebbalkar had on Wednesday alleged that the ED summons was a result of “vindictive politics”.

The agency earlier summoned her on September 14, asking her to join the investigation. However, Ms. Hebbalkar sought an exemption as she was engaged in flood relief operations in her constituency. She had also asked the ED officials to question her in Bengaluru, but did not get any response.

Mr. Shivakumar is

currently in judicial custody . The ED had earlier taken him into custody for interrogation in the case, which is based on a charge sheet filed last year by the Income-Tax Department, alleging tax evasion and “hawala” transactions running into crores of rupees. It also questioned his daughter Aishwarya earlier this month.