IT sleuths search apartment belonging to Puttaraju

Bengaluru: Minor Irrigation minister C S Puttaraju Thursday said Income Tax sleuths have carried out fresh searches at an apartment belonging to him at Mysuru.

The minister is in charge of Mandya district and is overseeing election preparations of chief minister H D Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is contesting his maiden election from Mandya.

The minister said income tax sleuths reached the fifth floor of Sankalp Central Park apartment and stayed there for two hours.

Later, they handed over a notice to the cook, he told a TV channel.

On March 28, the income tax department carried out raids at multiple locations in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya, Ramanagara, Shivamogga and Hassan triggering a strong reaction from chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders who accused the Centre of promoting politics of vendetta.

Kumaraswamy had even called the I-T officers as the agents of BJP and led a protest by the ruling Congress-JDS coalition in front of the IT department office here.