New Delhi: Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar was released Wednesday evening from Tihar Jail following the Delhi High Court order granting him bail, said a jail official. Shivakumar is accused in a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
After the court order was received in the evening, the Congress leader was released following a medical check-up and other formalities at 9.15pm, the official added.
The judge, who granted him bail, also said that Shivakumar, 57, cannot tamper with the evidence as the documents are with the investigating agencies. The ED had challenged his bail plea.
Shivakumar was arrested September 3 by the ED in the money laundering case. He was lodged in Tihar jail under judicial custody and had challenged the trial court’s order denying him bail in the case.
Shivakumar, a seven-time MLA in Karnataka, was booked along with Haumanthaiah – an employee at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi – and others for alleged offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The case was based on a chargesheet filed by the Income Tax Department against them last year before a special court in Bangalore on charges of alleged tax evasion and ‘hawala’ transactions worth crore of rupees.
The I-T department has accused Shivakumar and his alleged associate SK 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.
PTI