ED issues fresh summonses to DKShi’s mother, wife

Team Udayavani, Oct 31, 2019, 11:43 AM IST

Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), probing Karnataka Congress leader D K Shivakumar in an alleged money-laundering case has issued fresh summonses to his wife Usha and the mother Gowramma (85).

As per the fresh summons issued, Shivakumar’s mother has to appear before the ED on November 15, his wife has been told to appear before the agency on November 17.

However, the counsel for Usha and Gowramma claimed that they have not received the summonses. Gowramma’s counsel had earlier said that whenever the ED summons her, the agency has to comply with the provision of the CrPC which states that a girl below 15 years of age and a woman of over 65 years cannot be called to a police station.

Gowramma and Usha had approached Delhi High Court seeking the ED to question them in Bengaluru in connection with the money laundering case against the former minister.

The ED had alleged that Shivakumar, his family members and associates have maintained more than 317 bank accounts in 20 banks and made high-value transactions.

It has so far interrogated 11 persons in this case, including Shivakumar’s daughter Aishwarya, Belagavi Rural MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar and Apex Bank chairman K N Rajanna.

The ED had, in September last year, registered the money-laundering case against Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah, an employee at the Karnataka Bhavan here, and others.

The case was based on a charge sheet (prosecution complaint) filed by the Income-Tax department against them before a special court in Bengaluru last year, alleging tax evasion and “hawala” transactions worth crores of rupees.

The I-T department has accused Shivakumar and his alleged associate S K Sharma of indulging in transactions involving huge amounts of unaccounted money on a regular basis through “hawala” channels with the help of three other accused.