Shivakumar's grilling by ED: Congress in Karnataka alleges vendetta politics, BJP rejects charge
Minister Sriramulu apologises for remarks on DKS
Bengaluru, Sep 3: As the Enforcement Directorate grilled senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar for the fifth day in Delhi in a money laundering case, his party leaders in Karnataka once again cried foul saying their colleague was a victim of vendetta politics, a charge rejected by the BJP leaders.
State Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao accused the BJP of using investigating agencies to "vindictively targeting" opposition leaders and said the party stood with Shivakumar while former MP, V S Ugrappa called it witch hunting and took exception to the leader being summoned on Ganesha Chaturthi day for questioning.
"Vindictively targeting opposition leaders, using agencies to harass and humiliate them is a specific agenda of BJP. D K Shivakumar has been bearing the brunt since two years. We are with him in this fight against an authoritarian regime," Rao tweeted.
Senior BJP leader and state Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries Jagadish Shettar rejected the Congress charge, saying the institutions were doing their duty and if someone felt being victimised, he cannot help it.
Revenue Minister R Ashoka too junked the allegations of vindictive politics.
"Whether be it ED, CBI or any other agency, they are all independent. BJP never does such politics because we don't need to do so. Whatever is going on is as per the law," said Ashoka.
Former chief ministers H D Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah among others have condemned the action against Shivakumar, calling it vindictive.
Congress leaders on Tuesday slammed a section of BJP leaders who backed the action by the ED against Shivakumar.
Shivakumar was in tears on Monday before entering the ED office in New Delhi as he expressed his anguish over the statements by Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol and Health Minister B Sriramulu.
Karjol had used a Kannada adage on Monday, which translates to "Those eating salt will have to drink water."
The adage is similar to "as you sow, so shall you reap".
Sriramulu said on Monday Shivakumar was dreaming of becoming chief minister but it will remain just a dream.
"His (Shivakumar's) desire will never reach fruition.
Congress has sidelined him but yet he thinks things will fall in place, which will never happen", Sriramulu had said.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Ugrappa, who is the state Congress spokesperson and a former Lok Sabha member, said Shivakumar was not a criminal.
"He is not running away but yet he was summoned on Ganesha Chaturthi day. If not vendetta politics, what else is?"
Ugrappa claimed the amount of Rs eight crore cash over which ED has grilled him had been accounted for and it was a tax paid money.
"When the country's economic health is in bad shape, the government is trying to divert public attention through various means. It is pursuing the politics of vendetta. This witch hunt must stop," said Ugrappa.
Commenting on Karjol's statement using salt analogy, Ugrappa said, "I want to know what the BJP leaders ate when they went to jail."
Former minister and member of legislative council H M Revanna too slammed some BJP leaders for their statements against Shivakumar.
"Shivakumar is not running away. He is there to face the probe. We are sure he will come out clean but the statements by some leaders are condemnable," Revanna told reporters.
Meanwhile, Sriramulu apologised saying he never meant to hurt anybody.
"My statement was political in nature. It was never meant to hurt anybody. Yet if it has hurt Shivakumar then I sincerely apologise," Sriramulu told reporters here.
The ED had in September last year registered the money laundering case against Shivakumar and others based on a charge sheet (prosecution complaint) filed by the Income Tax Department in a court here for alleged tax evasion and hawala transactions worth crores.
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Bus helper held for stealing USD 1,600 from Iranian woman's purse in Delhi; money recovered
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a bus helper and recovered USD 1,600 that was allegedly stolen from the purse of an Iranian woman who had forgotten it on a private bus at ISBT Kashmere Gate, an official said on Sunday.
The incident came to light on December 15, when a complaint was lodged at the ISBT Kashmere Gate police post by Dr Ali Akbar Shah, a professor at Delhi University and a resident of Mukherjee Nagar, the police said.
He informed police that his guest, Fareshteh Sayanjali, an Iranian national, had arrived in India on December 13 and was staying at his residence, they said.
The woman had travelled to Uttarakhand's Rishikesh and was returning to Delhi on December 15 in a bus. While de-boarding at ISBT Kashmere Gate around 1.45 pm, she inadvertently left her purse on the bus seat, the police officer said.
After some time, she received a phone call from the bus operator informing her that the purse had been found in the vehicle. However, when the purse was handed back to her, she discovered that USD 1,600 in cash kept inside was missing," the officer added.
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Based on Dr Shah's statement, an FIR was registered at Kashmere Gate police station on December 16, and an investigation was taken up, police said.
During the investigation, the team questioned the driver and conductor of the bus in which the woman had travelled, police said.
During questioning, the conductor told police that Monish, the bus helper, found the purse lying abandoned on a seat and handed it over to him, police said.
Monish initially attempted to mislead the investigators, but later confessed to stealing the US dollars from the purse, police said
Following his disclosure, Monish was arrested on December 17 and recovered the entire stolen amount, police said.
The accused, Monish, 26, is a resident of Jahangirpuri in north Delhi.
He has studied up to Class 10 and has been working as a helper with the private bus service for the past year, they said.
