Income Tax officials said undisclosed income worth Rs 162 crore was found, while cash amounting to Rs 41 lakh and over a 12 kg in gold and jewellery was seized during raids on Congress Karnataka Minister Ramesh L Jarkiholi and the party’s chief of the state women’s wing Laxmi R Hebbalkar’s properties, PTI reported on Tuesday. The leaders were unavailable for comment, the news agency said.
On January 19, officials had raided Jarkiholi and Hebbalkar’s properties in Belagavi, Gokak and Bengaluru. PTI had quoted Jarkiholi as saying, “I have not committed any wrong... The I-T officials had visited us in Belagavi and we have cooperated with them. Even in the future, we will cooperate with the officials.”
The I-T department’s statement said non-existent entities had been made shareholders and investors in one of the sugar companies owned by Jarkiholi and Hebbalkar. The sleuths found “huge unexplained cash deposits” in bank accounts owned by their family members and associates.
Officials said several people have been summoned for questioning. While the I-T department’s statement did not reveal the accused’s names, media reports have narrowed it down to the two leaders. “Search action led to gathering of evidence of systematic and organised tax evasion by both groups,” the department’s statement said.
The party’s state unit and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah have alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre is targeting the last bastion of the Congress with the I-T raids. The department, however, said it’s searches were based on internal “intelligence inputs”.
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