Kumaraswamy meets Shivakumar in Tihar Jail

NEW DELHI: Former Karnataka chief minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy met Congress leader D K Shivakumar at Tihar Jail on Monday.nnShivakumar is accused of evading tax and being involved in alleged hawala transactions worth crores of rupees. He was arrested on September 3 by the Enforcement Directorate and his judicial custody has been extended till October 25.nn”It was a cordial meeting. He looked very confident despite in this situation. He is mentally very strong. He is prepared to fight the next battle,” Kumaraswamy told reporters after meeting his former cabinet colleague in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government.nnTerming the meeting a “personal visit”, he also said, “Anyone can guess why this is all going on. DK (Shivakumar) has said he is prepared to face anything and will come out victorious.”nnShivakumar (57) was the main troubleshooter of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government headed by Kumaraswamy that lost power to the BJP in July this year.nnThe ED had, in September last year, registered the money-laundering case against Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah, an employee at the Karnataka Bhavan here, and others.nnThe case was based on a charge sheet filed by the Income Tax department against them before a special court in Bengaluru last year, alleging tax evasion and “hawala” transactions worth crores of rupees.nnThe I-T department has accused Shivakumar and his alleged associate S K Sharma of indulging in transactions involving huge amounts of unaccounted money on a regular basis through “hawala” channels with the help of three other accused.nnSource: Press Trust of India