Bengaluru: The Directorate of Income Tax (Investi gation), Karnataka & Goa on Wednesday conducted search and seizure operations in over 10 locations in Bengaluru, Delhi and Chennai, which are reportedly linked to Vijay Mulgund, a Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) member and a close associate of Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar for alleged tax evasion, unaccounted wealth and assets.
In Bengaluru, the tax raids were conducted at Mulgund's residential and official premises in Rajajinagar and Vijaynagar. There is no official confirmation on the extent of undeclared income that may or may not have been unearthed during the raids.
According to official sources, the raids were in continuation of the multiple search and seizure operations, which the I-T sleuths had conducted earlier this month at the 60 odd premises of Mr. Shivakumar and his family members in Karnataka and Delhi in which they had allegedly unearthed Rs 300 crore worth of undeclared income.
"Out of Rs 300 crore worth of undeclared income around Rs 100 crore reportedly belong to the powerful Vokka liga minister and his family members. The rest of the tax evaded wealth and assets belong to some of his close associates including a leading real estate developer and a transport company," said an official source.
Mulgund was earlier quizzed along with Mr. Shivakumar's brother D.K. Suresh by the I-T sleuths, when the former had hosted 44 legislators from Gujarat in a private resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru to prevent poaching attempts by the BJP ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections in that state. Mulgund was spotted with Shiva kumar during the entire episode.
The Income Tax officials also raided the premises of Chennai-based entrepreneur Anil Jain and retired IAS officer and officer on special duty to Shivakumar Vishwanath Reddy in Chennai.
Mulgund in middle
"Mulgund is an engineering graduate from Dharwad district. He joined the Congress party in 1996 and is an old Shivakumar loyalist. He was also very closely associated with the late Vilasrao Deshmukh - the former chief minister of Maharashtra. In 2002 Mulgund had co-hosted around 71 MLAs from Maharashtra, who were packed off to Bengaluru by Deshmukh till he won the crucial trust vote. His proximity with political bigwigs is well known. Last year he had won the bid to set up a solar power plant in Ballari," said a source on condition of anonymity.
