I-T officials grill Energy Minister D K Shivakumar and his family for hours

BENGALURU: Energy Minister D K Shivakumar along with his family members was questioned for at least two hours by Income Tax officials on Monday. They were asked to come back for questioning again on Tuesday.According to sources, Shivakumar, his wife Usha, his mother Gowramma and daughter Aishwarya appeared before the I-T sleuths for questioning. At the same time, other people including the owner of a jewellery chain, the head of an educational institution and a Travels firm owner were also summoned to appear before the I-T sleuths.

The offices of these establishments had been searched at the same time I-T officials were searching Shivakumar’s properties earlier. Overall, 15 people were questioned on Tuesday.
The minister and his family appeared for questioning around 2.30pm and it continued till 5pm. Shivakumar and his family members were questioned about his stake in different companies.
Shivakumar’s relative Ravi, who is an MLC, also appeared for questioning. 

All of them were questioned individually with the exception of Shivakumar’s mother who was quizzed in the presence of Shivakumar as she had trouble communicating with the officers. Shivakumar is said to have assisted her answer questions related to their ancestral property. His daughter was quizzed regarding a land registered in her name in Kanakapura.

Later, he told reporters that he had complied with the I-T officials and was not accompanied by his auditor. “We have appeared as directed by the I-T sleuths and they have told us to come back on Tuesday, which we will do. We have answered all the queries they had,” he said. He refused to comment on the possible political motives on the continued questioning by the I-T department officials.

Interestingly, Shivakumar is all set to hold the last meeting of the House committee on irregularities in power purchase agreements from 2005 to 2013 on Tuesday. The minister, who heads the committee, has been blowing hot and cold on the report which will be taking signatures of all the committee members on Tuesday. The final report will then be tabled before the House during the winter session.

Last week, he maintained that there was no vindictiveness in the report. Two days ago, he did a volte face and said that once the details in the report emerge, nobody would be talking about the I-T raids.
Shivakumar’s residence and office in Bengaluru and Delhi were raided by the I-T officials on August 2 and continued for the next two days.