New Delhi, October 23:  Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday met Congress leader DK Shivakumar at the Tihar Jail in Delhi.  Shivakumar is currently facing a judicial custody in connection with a money laundering case. This will be Sonia's second visit to Tihar Jail. The first time, Gandhi had met former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who facing corruption charges in connection with INX media case. On October 21, Former Karnataka chief minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy met Shivakumar at Tihar Jail.  'DK Shivakumar Evasive, Gave Irrelevant Answers': ED Tells Court, Seeks Further Custody.

Shivakumar, a seven-time MLA in Karnataka, is accused of evading tax and being involved in alleged hawala transactions worth crores of rupees. The 57-year-old leader was the main troubleshooter of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government headed by Kumaraswamy that lost power to the BJP in July this year. The Income Tax department, during the initial probe, had allegedly found unaccounted and misreported wealth linked to Shivakumar. BJP Jealous of My Son's Growth, Alleges DK Shivakumar's Mother.

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On September 3, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Shivakumar, under the PMLA. Since then he is lodged in Tihar jail. Shivakumar's judicial custody has been extended till October 25.

In September 2018, the ED had registered the money laundering case against Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah - an employee at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, and others. According to reports, the case was based on a charge sheet filed by the Income Tax department against them before a special court in Bengaluru in 2018, alleging tax evasion and “hawala” transactions worth crores of rupees.

Shivakumar had been accused by the Income Tax Department and his alleged associate S K Sharma of indulging in transactions involving huge amounts of unaccounted money on a regular basis through “hawala” channels with the help of three other accused.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 23, 2019 09:29 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).