Raid on BJP MLC’s house in Ranebennur; articles worth lakhs ‘meant for distribution’ seized

HUBBALLI

In a late-night operation on Tuesday, officials of the Commercial Tax Department raided the house of R. Shankar, MLC, in Ranebennur, Haveri district, and seized articles worth at least around ₹30 lakh that were allegedly meant for distribution ahead of the Assembly elections.

The raid led to an immediate reaction by Mr. Shankar’s followers who resorted to a protest, blaming the State government for it and accusing BJP leaders of “indulging in vindictive politics”. Mr. Shankar also reacted strongly to the development, claiming that he had the capacity to “win either as an Independent candidate or as candidate of another party.”

During the raid, Mr. Shankar was asked about the GST bill for the articles stored at his residence at Beeralingeshwar Nagar of Ranebennur. Mr. Shankar reportedly told them that he would produce it soon.

Of late, Mr. Shankar has been openly speaking against the BJP leadership during party meetings and he had even accused them of cheating him after promising ministership. Mr. Shankar won from the Ranebennur Assembly constituency in 2013 as an Independent and later shifted to the BJP but was denied the party ticket during the bypoll. Subsequently, he was made an MLC.

However, responding to the allegations, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai told presspersons in Hubballi that the raids only showed the free hand given by the government to the investigative agencies in the State.

He said that the raids were in no way related to the BJP and were carried out by officials. “Whoever commits a mistake will be punished by the government. Action will be taken as per law in the case of Mr. Shankar also,” he said.

According to officials, a few thousand saris, schoolbags, and household articles worth lakhs of rupees that had stickers with Mr. Shankar’s photograph on them were seized during the raid. The Assistant Commissioner of Haveri has been asked to take up further inquiry into the incident.