KPCC chief cries foul as I-T raids residence of his aide

Bengaluru: Income Tax sleuths raided Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar's aide U.B. Shetty's luxury residence in Dasanakoppa Circle in Dharwad district on Thursday. They also raided the house of Shetty's brother Seetharama Shetty.

Congress MLA Lakshmi Hebbalkar, reacting strongly to the raids stated that the raids were being conducted to create fear among Congress workers. "We will not be scared by this. BJP is indulging in instilling fear among the opposition leaders. This is happening in all states. We are not scared of Income Tax or Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids," she explained.

"Shetty is with Shivakumar for a long time. This is being done to hit the morale of Congress workers. The raids will not have any impact on by-elections," she maintained.

Both Shetty brothers are contractors. The team of officers that landed from Goa were searching the house of U.B. Shetty and collected details of his properties in Uppunda and Baindoor towns of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts. Later in the day, a raid was also conducted at his brother Seetharama Shetty's residence in Vinayakanagar. The Income Tax department is yet to make a statement on raids.