I-T sleuths raid Cong leader's house in Mandya

Intensifying its searches in Mandya ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Income Tax department Wednesday raided the house of a Congress leader M S Atmananda.

The raids were carried out during noon with the help of CRPF jawans, I-T sources said.

Details would be provided once the searches concluded, they said.

A week ago, income tax sleuths had raided multiple locations in Bengaluru, Mandya, Ramanagar, Mysuru, Hassan and Shivamogga, triggering angry reaction from the ruling Congress and the JD(S).

A day prior to the searches, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had said early morning raids on Congress and theJD(S) leaders were in the offing with the help of CRPF Jawans.

The next morning saw I-T sleuths raiding many places.

The Congress and the JD(S) leaders laterstaged a demonstration outside the I-T office on March 28.

The ruling alliance alleged that the raids were carried out on JD(S) leaders overseeing the elections of Kumaraswamy's son, Nikhil, in Mandya and nephew Prajwal Revanna in Hassan.

Strongly defending its action, the I-T department had said its activities should not be politicised, personalised or trivialised.

Karnataka will go to polls in two phases, 14 constituencies each, on April 18 and 23.