Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar gets ED summons, daughter served CBI notice
Shivamogga (K'taka), Feb 8: Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said he has been asked by the ED to appear before it on February 22, while his daughter has been served notice by the CBI.
The former Minister, who is currently undertaking "Praja Dhwani Yatre" as part of the party's preparations for the coming Assembly polls due by May, alleged that the Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation are "directed" only at opposition leaders and not at those from the ruling party.
"Everyday notices are coming, yesterday it has come to my daughter, it has come to our college, regarding fees paid, exam passed. CBI has issued the notice. What should I say? If they are questioning me about college fees payment, imagine what all they are asking. I leave it to (god)," said Shivakumar, who appeared frustrated with the developments, throwing up his hands in apparent despair.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "I have answered to ED and come back regarding what I have given to 'National Herald', now again they are asking me to appear before ED on February 22. What to do? Should I go ahead with 'Praja Dwani Yatre' or appear before the ED, I'm thinking."
"It (ED and CBI inquiries) is only against opposition parties and not the ruling party, irrespective of the thousands of crores they may have amassed, no ED questions them," he added.
Shivakumar had earlier appeared before the ED in Delhi for questioning in the National Herald money laundering case.
The Kanakapura MLA first got into the ED crosshairs when he was arrested by the agency on September 3, 2019 following multiple rounds of questioning in a case that emerged from an Income tax department action against him.
The Delhi High Court had granted him bail in October of that year.
In May last year, the agency filed a charge sheet against him and some others linked to him in this case.
He was questioned by the ED in September, in another money laundering case linked to the alleged possession of disproportionate assets.
The 2019 case was registered after taking cognisance of a charge sheet (prosecution complaint) filed by the Income Tax Department against them the previous year before a special court in Bengaluru on charges of alleged tax evasion and hawala transactions worth crores.
The I-T department has accused Shivkumar and his alleged associates of transporting huge amounts of unaccounted cash on a regular basis through hawala' channels with the help of three other accused.
CBI officials had earlier conducted searches in educational institutions run by Shivakumar in connection with a case of disproportionate assets which is under investigation.
Shivakumar is the chairman of the National Education Foundation (NEF) and his daughter D K S Aisshwarya is trustee secretary, while other family members are trustees.
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Deaf and mute woman breaks 16-year silence, exposes serial sexual abuse, blackmail in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): A deaf and mute woman's complaint about a sexual assault that took place 16 years ago in Mumbai has unmasked a serial predator, revealing a disturbing pattern of abuse and blackmail he perpetrated on several women from the community.
The accused was arrested on December 13 after the survivor broke her silence recently following the suicide attempt by one of the women he allegedly sexually harassed.
Disturbed by the suicide attempt, she confided in her friends during a video call about the assault that occurred in 2009.
According to the police, the survivor, a resident of the western suburbs, communicated in sign language during a video call with her friends and colleagues, who were part of a WhatsApp group, that the accused had drugged and raped her when she was a minor.
She also took her husband into confidence, and with support from Thane Deaf Association president Vaibhav Ghaisis, activist Mohammed Farhan Khan, sign language interpreter Madhu Keni, and a retired officer from the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities Divyangjan, the survivor approached the police.
The survivor, her husband and a few of her friends went to the Kurar police station, where her statement was recorded in camera, with Keni as interpreter, and the accused, Mahesh Pawar, was arrested a few hours later from Virar, a suburb in Palghar district.
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Recalling the trauma she endured 16 years ago, the survivor said that a female friend had invited her to explore the city in July 2009 and took her to Pawar's home in Vakola, Santacruz, an official said.
The accused allegedly offered her samosas and some beverage to celebrate the female friend's birthday. The survivor said she was forced to have the drink, which Pawar had allegedly spiked, and after a while, her friend left her alone with him.
The accused allegedly overpowered and raped her, and later blackmailed her with the recorded video of the assault.
The trauma of assault stayed with her over the years, and the attempted suicide of another woman from the community, allegedly assaulted by Pawar, propelled her to come forward.
A probe has revealed that the accused had similarly drugged and assaulted speech and hearing impaired women and threatened them into silence by blackmailing them with obscene videos, a senior police officer said.
The accused allegedly shot obscene videos of several women, using which he blackmailed them and extorted money, gold and mobile phones, he said.
He allegedly forced women into participating in nude video calls with him and recorded these to threaten them, the official said.
"As per initial investigation so far, we have evidence of his abuse of seven women, but the number can increase to more than 24," the official told PTI.
While Pawar has been remanded in judicial custody, no other woman has come forward with a complaint against him as yet, he said.
Talking to PTI, Keni said all women who have survived abuse and harassment by Pawar want to lodge a complaint against him.
She claimed that the accused had extorted money from one of the women he abused, but did not return the sum even when she needed it for a medical emergency.
