Bengaluru, Aug 7: After raids over three days, the income tax department has summoned Karnataka energy minister DK Shivakumar to appear before it in Bengaluru on Monday in connection with a tax-evasion probe.
"It is a normal procedure. The minister has sought two days to appear," an I-T department spokesperson said.
The energy minister said he would consult advisers to decide when to appear before the department. "I'm a law-abiding citizen. I'll definitely be in the I-T office and offer my full cooperation to the probe," he said.
Summonses were issued on Shivakumar, family members and associates, who were raided by the I-T department, under Section 131 of the Income-Tax Act which relates to collection of evidence on undisclosed earnings. It is mandated that a notice be issued to him after his premises were searched.
Our search-and-seizure operation is techni cally over, pending for malities like collection and documentation of seized material and recording of statements. I-T officials have a timeframe of 60 days to demand response in cases under which Shivakumar's properties were raided,'' an official added.
After completing all formalities, including recording of statements, I-T officials said the search teams will submit their reports (or panchanamas) and seizures to the investigation wing directorgeneral in New Delhi, and he will decide when and what information can be given to the public.
The department claimed it was one of the biggest I-T operations against an individual in recent times. "This operation was a marathon ex ercise -involved 300 officials at 70 premises of Shivakumar, his relatives and friends across the state and in Delhi, for about 80 hours," said an official of the department's Karnataka and Goa region.
With the I-T department closing in on Shivakumar, KPCC president G Parameshwara held a closed-door meeting with the minister for over three hours early Sunday, and discussed the political fallout of the raids and how they should go about it, a party source said.
Shivakumar also held meetings with ministers MB Patil, A Manju and party's woman wing chief and aide Laxmi Hebbalkar.
Some religious Vokkaliga leaders met Shivakumar to extend moral support. He summoned his financial advisers to help draft responses to queries, especially pertaining to cash seizures and foreign investment.
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