D K Shivakumar's ED custody extended till Sept 17 in money laundering case

A Delhi court on Friday extended till September 17 the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody of Karnataka Congress leader D K Shivakumar in connection with a money laundering case.

Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar asked the investigating agency to take the accused for medical examination after his counsel submitted he is "suffering from high blood pressure" and his health condition is "serious".

The court also directed the ED to file its reply on the bail plea of Shivakumar by Monday.

The Congress leader was produced before the special judge at the Rouse Avenue Court Complex earlier today after the expiry of the ED's nine-day remand.

During the course of the proceedings, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) KM Natraj, appearing on behalf of the agency, said Shivakumar was "evasive" and gave "irrelevant replies" during his custodial interrogation.

The ASG submitted the ED wants to "confront Shivakumar with certain people and bank documents".

Natraj contended family members and close associates of the former Karnataka minister have more than 317 bank accounts in over 20 banks.

Following the submissions by the ED counsel, the court asked the probe agency as to how the accused would provide answers in five days if he has not done so until now.

"What do you mean by non-cooperation? Do you think he will give answers in the next five days? So far, as his answering of questions was concerned, if he was going to do it he would have done it by now," the judge said.

Shivakumar told the court that he has five bank accounts, contrary to the more the 300 claimed by the agency. "I have been cooperating," he added.

The Congress leader was arrested by the ED on September 3. He was produced before the court the next day.

The money laundering case was registered by the agency against him in September last year, based on a complaint filed by the Income Tax department.

The I-T department, during the initial probe, had allegedly found unaccounted and misreported wealth linked to Shivakumar.

The department had stated it came across money laundering and hawala operations, involving a network of persons across Delhi and Bengaluru.