Bengaluru, May 11: As a last minute ditch to the Congress, IT sleuths have conducted raids on the houses and offices of Congress candidates including Bidar south constituency candidate Ashok Kheni, Karwar constituency candidate Sathish Shail, Dharwad Constituency candidate Vinay Kulkarni and others on Friday.

On tip-off, the IT sleuths have conducted raids in Bidar, Karwar, Dharwad and other places on the houses of the candidates and their relatives on Friday morning and verified the documents, it is said.

The IT officials verified the documents at the house of Ashok Kheni at Rampura in Bidar. But they have returned without finding any documents related to property and money.

The IT officials also raided the houses of Sathish Shail and Vinay Kulkarni houses and offices at Karwar and Dharwad and verifying the documents. The IT raids on the houses of candidates and their relatives have been continued in the state for the last one week and it is said that the raids were being conducted on clear information that money is being distributed in the election. This has caused allegations and counter allegations between political parties.

“BJP leaders have been trying to diminish the self confidence of Congress leaders through IT raids. But, it was Congress ancestors who fought against British to get freedom. So, the BJP cannot diminish our confidence through such acts. It is sure that Congress will come to power again”, KPCC working president SR Patil.

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Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.

Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.

Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.

An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.

The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.

A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.

Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."

"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.

"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.

A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.