I-T sleuths return to Delhi after searches at Cong leader Bishnoi's residence in Hisar

The Income-Tax department sleuths returned to Delhi after conducting searches at the Sector 15 residence of Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi for four consecutive days.

Searches had also been conducted by the I-T department at the sitting legislator's Adampur residence here which concluded earlier.

The IT sleuths had on Tuesday carried out simultaneous searches at residential premises of Bishnoi in Hisar and Adampur, Gurgaon and Delhi.

The sleuths were looking for documents and evidence in connection with a tax evasion probe linked to Bishnoi, son of former Haryana Chief Minister late Bhajan Lal, they said.

According to official sources, the IT team returned to Delhi on Friday afternoon.

Bishnoi's son Bhavya too was asked to accompany the IT sleuths.

The IT officials did not speak to the media here and it remained unclear whether there was anything incriminating found during the searches.

Kuldeep Bishnoi, the Congress MLA from Adampur and his wife Renuka Bishnoi, who too is a legislator from Haryana, however, were not present during the searches.

Kuldeep and Renuka were stated to be in Delhi. Bhavya, who had unsuccessfully contested the recent Lok Sabha elections from Hisar, had been staying at Hisar with his grandmother Jasma Devi.

Renuka Bishnoi had earlier reacted to the IT searches in a Facebook post, asserting they have been doing "clean politics".

Kuldeep and Renuka, legislator from Hansi, had won their seats in 2014 as Haryana Janhit Congress candidates, but they merged their party with the Congress in 2016.

On Income Tax department searches at Bishnoi's residential premises in Hisar for the fourth day, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, who is legislator from Kaithal, alleged that "Raid Raj" has become synonym of Bharatiya Janata Party.

"Raid Raj has become synonym of BJP. The illegal raid at Kuldeep Bishnoi's residence which has been going on for the past three days is a living example of this. BJP government cannot suppress the voice of Congress leaders. The entire party stands behind Kuldeep Bishnoi," he tweeted.