I-T raids back, Bengaluru businessmen target

Bengaluru: The Income Tax department on Thursday continued its raids on contractors and businessmen close to leaders of the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition and reportedly searched the offices and residences of three businessmen in Bengaluru.  

The IT department has not issued any statement related to these raids as yet, however  Bangalore Central Congress candidate Rizwan Arshad claimed that the department raided some of his followers. Sources in the Muslim community asserted that Mr Arshad had no links with these businessmen earlier. There is a possibility that the businessmen might have voiced plans to fund Mr Arshad's campaign and therefore came in the firing line of the IT department.   

Interestingly the three businessmen are very close to a sitting Congress MLA from Bengaluru city. It is not clear why Rizwan took umbrage to the IT raids on the offices of businessman who are close to the MLA.

Meanwhile, also in the line of IT fire was minor irrigation minister C.S. Puttaraju, district in-charge of Mandya where Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil is pitted against independent Mrs Sumalatha Ambareesh, with the authorities descending for the second time in as many weeks on his residence in Mysuru.  Puttaraju is overseeing the poll campaign for Nikhil.  

Mr Puttaraju's son Shivu confirmed to the media that IT officers visited their house in Mysuru. He said: "when the officers arrived this afternoon, no one was at home except the cook."

The state government is now in a fix. Sources said that they cannot file an FIR against the chief minister himself who heads the government, nor can they ignore the letters of a very senior officer of a central government agency.  The entire police department seems to have gone quiet over the developments and the line of action they would be pursuing.

Treading cautiously, the police have sent notices to both sides. Sources said  Mr Balakrishnan was asked to submit evidence to prove his allegations while the other side (Mr Kumaraswamy's name is not included) was asked to give their point of view on the allegations of the IT department. Based on this, the police may take a call on whether to file a FIR or not.  Meanwhile, CEO Sanjiv Kumar said  that the police had to initiate action. To a question on whether the police could file a FIR against their political boss, the CM, Mr Kumar said, “I am confident some action will happen.”