Bengaluru : “The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against former Minister of Karnataka Government (presently MLA) DK Shivakumar on the allegations of possession of disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs. 74.93 crore (approx) in his name and in the name of his family members, on Monday

The CBI, in a statement, said it has found “incriminating material” in the raid.

“Searches were conducted today at 14 locations including Karnataka, Delhi, Mumbai at the premises of said MLA and others which led to recovery of cash of ₹ 57 lakh(approx) and several incriminating documents including property documents, bank related information, computer hard disk,” it added.

The raids, which began at around 6:30 am,  at DK Shivakumar’s home in Sadashivanagar, an upscale locality in Bengaluru, was one of the many locations searched by the investigative agency. Just across the road, the home of his brother – MP DK Suresh – was also searched.

The alleged corruption case against the Karnataka Congress chief was registered by the CBI based on the inputs shared by the Enforcement Directorate over a money laundering probe. “Searches are being conducted today at 14 locations including nine in Karnataka, four in Delhi, and one in Mumbai,” the probe agency said this morning in a statement.

Last year, the 58-year-old Congress leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate after four days of questioning over money-laundering allegations.

The September 2019 arrest involved tax raids on Mr Shivakumar in 2017, when ₹ 8.6 crore in “undisclosed income” was allegedly found. The figure was revised to ₹ 11 crore later. The Enforcement Directorate had filed a money laundering case against Mr Shivakumar in 2018, based on a chargesheet filed by the Income Tax department.

During the money laundering probe, the Enforcement Directorate had forwarded some of their findings to the CBI last year. This is the first CBI case against the 58-year-old Congress leader.

Responding to the searches, ex-Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah tweeted: “@BJP4India has always tried to indulge in vindictive politics & mislead public attention. The latest CBI raid on @KPCCPresident @DKShivakuma ‘s house is another attempt to derail our preparation for bypolls. I strongly condemn this.”