Where do I have hawala money?: Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar, who is slated to appear before a Delhi court next week in a money laundering case, claimed on Friday that he has no 'hawala money', and the court will decide on the case.
A Delhi court last month summoned him and others in a money laundering case lodged against him in 2018.
Special Judge Vikas Dhull directed Shivakumar to appear on July 1, taking cognisance of a chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) through its Special Public Prosecutor Nitesh Rana against him and others in the case.
"The ED has filed a chargesheet in the court. They had to do it in six months, but after taking years, they have filed the chargesheet now. So, I have been given summons for June 31 (July 1), I will go," Shivakumar told reporters here.
Responding to a question regarding reports about reference to hawala money linked to him in the chargesheet, he said, "Where do I have (hawala money)? Court will decide all those things."
Shivakumar was arrested by the ED in the case on September 3, 2019 and was granted bail by the Delhi High Court on October 23, 2019.
The case is based on a chargesheet filed by the Income Tax Department against Shivakumar and others last year before a special court in Bengaluru on charges of alleged tax evasion and 'hawala' transactions worth crores of rupees.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
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.
