Income Tax chief wants ‘external agency’ to probe March 28 protest
Bengaluru: The Principal Chief Commissioner and Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), Karnataka and Goa, B.R. Balakrishnan, has requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to entrust the inquiry into the March 28 incident to an "external agency" outside Karnataka as it involved prominent state leaders.
The DGIT had complained that Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwar, former chief minister Siddaramaiah and other senior Congress and JD(S) leaders – Dinesh Gundurao, D.K. Shivakumar, Ramalinga Reddy, H.D. Revanna, C.S. Putturaju and S.R. Mahesh had "unlawfully" assembled near the headquarters of the Income Tax Department, protested and raised slogans against the department to "intimidate" the officers, who were involved in the search operations against some "politically exposed" contractors, engineers and intermediaries.
Meanwhile, the city police have entrusted the inquiry into the incident to an officer of the rank of assistant commissioner of police.
The DGIT had on Tuesday written to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sanjeev Kumar that the above mentioned politicians were "intimidating" the Income Tax officers, who are working to control use of illicit money in the forthcoming Parliament elections. Balakrishnan had requested the CEO to take up the matter urgently with the Director General & Inspector General of Police.
According to sources, the police chief on Wednesday sent the complaint to the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner for follow up action. Sources on condition of anonymity told DC that the city police have reportedly issued notices to the DGIT and the respondents to further inquire into the March 28 incident and have clubbed the income tax chief's complaint with the earlier complaint, which was registered at Commercial Street Police station against some block presidents of Congress and the JD (S) on March 28 under Section 188 of the IPC – a non-cognizable offence, for disobeying order duly promulgated by public servant.
The DGIT had requested the CEO to take up the matter "urgently" with DG&IGP to take "appropriate action" against the above mentioned political leaders for the "commission of various cognizable and other criminal offences" including but not limited to the concerned sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) such as 143 (punishment for being a member of unlawful assembly,) 149 (every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoking breach of peace), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions),187 (omission to assist public servant, when bound by law to give assistance) and 189 (threat of injury to public servant). "The police may add some sections of the IPC the DGIT has mentioned after a careful inquiry," the source said.
