CBDT sleuths raid flat of bizman 'close to senior minister'

Ministers are said to have received bribe to award electrical contracts

Chasing alleged kickbacks involving Karnataka ministers and officials in awarding electrical contracts in electricity supply companies (Escoms), officials of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) have begun searching houses of the close confidants of politicians who are suspected to have been benefited.

In one such raid, six officials including a woman have been searching the flat of a businessman in Malleswaram in Bengaluru for the last two days. “The search operation began on Thursday morning. It is still going on,” a source told Deccan Herald.

The officials also took the businessman out to search his other properties and check lockers in a few banks, the source added. He was later brought back to the flat where the search continued.

The businessman with interests in running clubs in casinos in Goa and Sri Lanka is said to be one of the confidants of a senior minister. He is also said to be close to another minister from Bengaluru and a “reformed don”. Besides casinos, he is said to have business interests in real estate.

It is, however, unclear what was found in his flat. There are unconfirmed reports that around Rs seven crore in cash and a few documents were seized.

Income Tax officials who raided a few electrical contractors in Bengaluru a few days ago had reportedly laid their hands on a document which contained a list of ministers and officials who were “bribed” in lieu of the contracts awarded.

There were also reports that I-T officials had sent a dossier to the CBDT on ministers whose names were found in a contractor’s list for further action.

‘Just the beginning’

Another source said that Thursday’s raid on the Malleswaram flat is the beginning of several such raids in the coming days as a few ministers and officials are under the I-T scanner.

Efforts to contact CBDT member (Investigation) Sushil Chandra at his office in Delhi didn’t yield results as he was “busy attending meetings,” according to his personal staff.

The CBDT spokesperson, Shefali Shah, refused to comment on a dossier sent on ministers or whether they are under the scanner. “We don’t comment on any individual cases or speak on raids,” she said.