Bengaluru: On a day when voting was held in the first phase of Lok Sabha election 2024 for 102 constituencies across the country on Friday April 19, the Income Tax Department officials raided more than 10 places in Karnataka capital Bengaluru in connection with a probe into alleged money laundering case, sources said.
It is learnt that the IT sleuths raided the houses and offices of leading businessmen and contractors of the city, and seized the documents during the said raids. It has been learned that raids were carried out in the background of allegations of money laundering for the ongoing Lok Sabha election.
In the wake of the Lok Sabha election, there are allegations of political parties luring voters with money power. It is alleged that an illegal transfer of money through known businessmen and contractors is being carried out to lure people to cast their vote in favour of a particular political party candidate.
A few days ago, IT officials raided the residence of Congress leader Kemparaju besides the house of a businessman in Vajarahalli and seized some documents from the premises.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Income Tax officials in March this year raided the house of a close aide of Karnataka MLA Bairati Basavaraj at Jalakandeswarar Nagar, Old Bus Stand, Sitaram Nagar, Hosur, in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu.
The raid was carried out at the residence of Lokesh Kumar, who is running a crusher under the name SABL Blue Metal. Kumar is said to be a close aide of Bengaluru's Krishnarajapuram MLA Bairati Basavaraj.
