An Economic Offences Court in Karnataka’s capital Bengaluru on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to water resources and medical education minister DK Shivakumar, his brother DK Suresh and four others in a money laundering case and a hawala case, The News Minute reported. The minister’s associates Hanumanthaiah, Anjaneya, Sunil Kumar Sharma, Sachin Narayana also received bail, and all of them were asked to pay a bond of Rs 50,000 each.
The decision comes three days after the Karnataka High Court stayed the sanction granted by the Income Tax Department’s principal director of investigations to prosecute the minister and his associates. The court passed the judgement after hearing the writ petition filed by Sachin Narayana, who accused the department of harassing him and the others. He also claimed the the department had tampered with evidence.
The Income Tax Department has filed four cases against Shivakumar based on the raids it has conducted since August 2017. Investigators are believed have recovered more than Rs 300 crore in undisclosed income and cash and jewellery worth nearly Rs 15 crore. The minister, who has been accused of destroying evidence, has been given conditional bail in three of those cases.
In May, the Central Bureau of Investigation searched the residences and an office of the minister’s associates accused of illegally exchanging demonetised currency notes.
source: Scroll.in
