I-T raids in Koppa take ‘political hue’

The officers of Income Tax Department, who conducted search operations on properties belonging to four Congress workers in Koppa taluk on Monday, allegedly enquired about their political leanings and opinion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

I-T sleuths reached houses of Sudhir Kumar Murolli, president of Koppa Block Congress, and party leaders Subrahmanya Shetty, H.M. Sathish, and Ravi Kukkadige in Koppa taluk. The search operations began around 6.30 a.m. and continued till 6 p.m. According to Congress leaders whose properties were searched, the I-T officials did not find unaccounted cash or any important document.

Mr. Murolli, who is an advocate, said: “They terrorised all of us. My wife and I have a good collection of books. The officers threw all the books out of the racks. I don’t know what they were searching for,” he said. He was surprised when the officers asked him why he often passed comments on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and criticised the Prime Minister. “They wanted to know why I work for the Congress. I told them it was none of their business,” he said.

During the search operation at his residence, the officers found ₹1.95 lakh, including the ₹1.48 lakh belonging to his sister. “My sister lost her husband two months ago. She had received the amount from insurance policies. Besides that, my parents and I had a few thousand rupees. I had little over ₹5,000 in my pocket,” he said. Gold ornaments worth ₹2.22 lakh were found.

Mr. Kukkadige, whose house was also searched, said: “The officers wanted to know how many Congress rallies I have participated in. I told them I have not yet started campaigning this time.” The officers did find a few thousand rupees in his residence.