In more trouble for senior Congress leader and former Karnataka minister D.K. Shivakumar, who was arrested in a money laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday questioned his party MLA Lakshmi Hebbalkar. Reports said Hebbalkar was interrogated by the agency for over eight hours.
The Belagavi (Rural) MLA, who had received ED summons, appeared before the agency around 11 am on Thursday. The ED had earlier summoned Shivakumar's daughter Aishwarya and recorded her statement in connection with the case.
A senior ED official related to the probe said Hebbalkar was confronted with the statements of Shivakumar, reported IANS. Her statement was recorded under the Prevention of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Shivakumar, arrested by the ED on September 3, was on Tuesday remanded in judicial custody for 14 days till October 1 by a Delhi court.
An I-T search at Shivakumar's New Delhi flat on August 2, 2017 had led to the seizure of Rs 8.59 crore unaccounted cash. The I-T Department lodged cases against him and his four associates under sections 277 and 278 of the I-T Act, 1961 and sections 120(B), 193 and 199 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Based on the I-T chargesheet, the ED had in September last year registered the money laundering case against Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah, an employee at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, and others.
