IT officials quiz Parameshwara for second time

Bengaluru: The Income Tax officials on Monday, October 21 questioned former deputy chief minister G Parameshwara for the second time in connection with the raids carried out on his residence and educational institutions recently.

As per the sources, Parameshwara was grilled for around two hours, during which officials sought details on the finances of Siddharth Group of Institutions.

Addressing presspersons Parameshwar said, “The officials had asked me to answer some questions regarding the documents collected during the raid on his group of institutions.”

Though I-T sleuths questioned Parameshwara – trustee for the group of institutions – regarding its accounts, he said that auditors of the Institution would appear and respond to their queries.

The Income Tax Department had on October 10 seized about Rs 5 crore cash during raids against G Parameshwara and others.

In coordinated raids, more than 300 Income Tax sleuths swooped down on premises linked to two prominent Congress leaders in Karnataka – the former deputy chief minister and former MP R L Jalappa’s son J Rajendra.

The raids are in connection with a multi-crore tax evasion case linked to the NEET exams, officials said.

Besides raiding the office, residence and institutions belonging to Parameshwara, the I-T officials also searched the residence of his brother G Shivaprasad and personal assistant Ramesh, sources in the department said.

While Parameshwara’s family runs the Siddhartha Group of Institutions, which was established by his father H M Gangadharaiah 58 years ago, Rajendra runs the R L Jalappa Institute of Technology at Doddaballapura and Kolar.