ED opposes Shivakumar's plea for protection from arrest in an alleged money laundering case

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday opposed the writ petition filed by Karnataka Congress legislator D.K. Shivakumar in the Karnataka High Court seeking protection from arrest by its officials for his alleged involvement in an alleged money laundering case, an official source said.

"Our senior counsel M.B. Nargund has filed objections to Shivakumar's writ plea and requested for its dismissal as he was only summoned to appear before our investigation team in New Delhi on Friday afternoon," an ED source told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

Fearing arrest by the ED after appearing before its investigation team in New Delhi later in the day, Shivakumar, 57, moved the high court for interim protection.

Before adjourning the hearing to afternoon, Justice Aravind Kumar asked Shivakumar's counsel B.V. Acharya to approach the ED court as he had dismissed his client's writ plea to quash its December summons on Thursday.

"As the petition against our earlier summons was dismissed yesterday (Thursday) by the high court, the law enforcement agency has on Thursday summoned Shivakumar to appear before our probe team on Friday afternoon in New Delhi," an ED official told IANS here.

The bench has heard the arguments from both sides and adjourned the case for further hearing to the afternoon.

The alleged money laundering came to light after raids by the tax sleuths on Shivakumar's flat in New Delhi on August 2, 2017, led to the seizure of unaccounted cash worth Rs 8.59 crore without evidence of its source of income.

Cases were filed against him and four others associated with him under Sections 277 and 278 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and Sections 120(B), 193 and 199 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

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