Daijiworld Media Network - Haveri (SP)
Haveri, Dec 4: Income tax (IT) officials and excise officials raided the residence of Congress candidate for the bypoll from Ranebennur constituency, K B Koliwad, at around 10 pm on Tuesday, December 3. It is said that the raid was conducted based on reliable information.
The raid which was conducted at the fag end of the bypoll campaigning has come in for bitter criticism from Congress workers. They feel that the BJP has been threatening its rivals through such raids.
K B Koliwad
The raiding party which reached the residence of Koliwad, a former assembly speaker, at the sixth cross at Vagish Nagara, Haveri, continued to search his house for about an hour. It is said that the departments were informed about the presence of huge amount of cash and liquor in Koliwad's residence. The officials numbering about 20 searched for presence of cash amounting to ten crore rupees and liquor on the basis of information they received.
The officials however had to leave empty-handed. The excise commissioner said that nothing illegal was found during the raid. The officials say that the raid was based on information passed by someone. But Congress workers feel that the raid conducted a day before the bypoll was aimed at victimising the Congress candidate.
Koliwad said that the raid was conducted at the instance of BJP and that the chief minister B S Yediyurappa and home minister Basavaraj Bommai were behind the incident. BJP leaders who dismissed the allegation, feel that Koliwad got the raid on himself to gain sympathy votes in the form of election gimmick by passing on false information to officials.