How friendship with D K Shivakumar cost Siddhartha his life


Bangalore, Aug 1 (IANS): The V G  Siddhartha (VGS) suicide has cast a pall of gloom over Indian business and in the main the breeding ground of entrepreneurship - Bangalore. More so because Siddhartha was besieged by creditors of all hues. And he was desperately trying to pare his debt by hawking his stake in Mindtree, Tanglin Developments (Blackstone along with southern developer Salarpuria Sattva, was as recently as May 2019 planning to buy Siddhartha's real estate venture Tanglin Developments, which owns a technology park in Bengaluru, for about Rs 2,800 crore) and even Coffee Day Enterprises through an ongoing dialogue with Coca Cola and ITC for close to $1.4 billion.

Days after his death, there is clarity on whether a harassed VGS threw in the towel because of creditor or Income Tax pressure. His suicide note hinted at both. But, why did he take this extreme step after all he was successful in paying off some of his creditors? Or was his political connection and friendship with Congress play maker D K Shivakumar (DKS) responsible for his untimely death?

D.K. Shivakumar, Congress strongman in Karnataka said in a tweet that he had received a call from VGS to meet on July 28, but the meeting never happened because he went missing thereafter. D K Shivakumar's connection with V.G. Siddhartha is certainly not tenuous. Both were Gowdas. And the events as they unfolded are a matter of sequence.

The Income Tax probe against Siddhartha came after the probe against Shivakumar in August-September 2017. During the overarching probe against DKS initiated on 02.08.2017, the residence of N. Chandrashekar Sukapuri, DKS's financial assistant was also searched. From the said premise information pertaining to financial transactions of DKS's daughter with Café Coffee Day Ltd. and M/s. Soul Space was allegedly obtained. When Chandrashekar was confronted by IT sleuths, it was ostensibly learnt that Rs 20 crore had been transferred to DKS in a roundabout and concealed fashion by CCD. This is where the hunt began.

D K Shivakumar, who declared assets over Rs 700 crore is considered one of the richest politicians in Karnataka. He came under the I-T scanner after his properties were raided in August 2017 when 44 Gujarat Congress MLAs were flown down to stay at a resort near Bengaluru to ensure Ahmed Patel was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha. Shivakumar was Congress' centrifuge to ensure none of the MLAs was poached by the BJP ahead of the Rajya Sabha election.

In its press note on Tuesday, the IT department had said that the raids against V.G. Siddhartha was a follow-up action to raids in the properties belonging to a "prominent Karnataka politician", nobody other than the all powerful DKS. Shivakumar's brother and Congress MP D.K. Suresh also told a media outlet that the I-T department moved with great alacrity to attach Siddhartha's shares in MindTree, in which he held 20.3 per cent stake.

"Rules specify that attachment of assets is not to be done at the preliminary stage. In Siddhartha's case, the assessment is yet to be done and tax demand is yet to be determined, but I-T officials rushed to attach his assets at a time when he wanted to sell them to repay debts," said D.K. Suresh.

Incidentally, this is the genesis of VGS's problems. Shivakumar was picked up from a luxury resort in Bengaluru where he was staying with 43 lawmakers flown in from Gujarat by the Congress to check a rash of defections ahead of Rajya Sabha election. From that day onwards, he had been questioned. Shivakumar was also at the centre of the operation that saw Congress -JD(S) roil BJP plans to form the government after the Karnataka assembly elections last year.

On his death, Karnataka Congress said in a tweet, "VG Siddhartha case is very unfortunate. Result of harassment by IT officials & decline of India's entrepreneurial position turning virulent by the day, with Tax Terror & collapse of economy." It added, "Companies which flourished under UPA have been shut down with many people being jobless."

In his suicide note, VGS wrote: "There was a lot of harassment from the previous DG Income Tax in the form of attaching our shares on two separate occasions to block our Mindtree deal and then taken possession of our Coffee Day shares, although the revised returns have been filed by us. This was very unfair and has led to a serious liquidity crunch."

Income tax raids were conducted at over twenty locations in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Chikmagalur. The Tax Department declared that the group's officials had admitted to "concealed income" exceeding Rs 650 crore. I-T department said CCD founder admitted to personal unaccounted income of Rs 362 crore during probe but Enforcement Directorate, which was also probing the entrepreneur, said the investigation against him "was not very serious and detailed." The truth obviously lies in between.

The Income Tax Dept rebuttal, however, said: "It is based on the unearthing of a credible evidence of financial transactions done by CCD in a concealed manner. A person holding citizenship of Singapore was also covered in the search action. He was found with unaccounted cash of Rs 1.2 crore and admitted that the cash belongs to V G Siddhartha."

The Income Tax Department, Bangalore alluded to a Singapore citizen in its rejoinder after Siddhartha went missing. It now emerges that the alleged person in this transaction is Rajnish Gopinath, a Singapore citizen who was found with unaccounted cash to the tune of Rs 1.2 crore in his residence during the simultaneous raid on him along with DKS. The cash reportedly was stated by Gopinath to belong to V.G. Siddhartha. It is more damaging to note that numerous messages and calls have been found in his mobile CDR which indicate his active involvement in hawala transactions.

Now comes the twist. Investigation has found that Rajnish Gopinath (whose brother Monish Gopinath was employed as Director Finance with CCD) was found to be involved in various hawala transactions, including many on behalf of CCD through Deekshith (employee of CCD and a very close confidante of V.G. Siddhartha), Ravi and Rafi (employee of Sharma Transport – known hawala operator and closely linked to DKS). During the course of the search, Deekshith reportedly admitted to these hawala transactions.

The Income Tax Department case is predicated on the following: they have claimed that CCD was involved in tax evasion and money laundering, thrown into stark relief by a CCD group company named Devadarshini Info Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (DITPL) which claimed a loss from business to the extent of Rs 15,27,51,620 during the assessment year 2013-14 and debited expenses to the P&L A/c to the tune of Rs 21,62,10,770 incl. purchases of Rs 13,79,30,946.

The DITPL's main object is to manufacture computers and computer peripherals, with no employees on its payrolls, however, it indulged in apparent bogus trading of timber and logs (from another CCD Group company incorporated in Guyana (Vaitarna Holding Private Inc., foreign subsidiary of M/s Vaitarna Timber Trading (P) Ltd.) to illegally transfer funds out of India without any formal agreement. It further made advances that are greater than the sale consideration by three times.

The IT Dept Bangalore has been ceaselessly and doggedly pursuing Siddhartha, more so it tried to impede the sale of his Mindtree shares to L&T Infotech twice and Siddhartha himself has stated in his suicide note that the DG IT was terrorising and harassing him. Against this IT claim that a Cypriot Company by the name of Arduino Holdings Ltd had lent funds to CDEL in the form of Cumulative Convertible Debenture (CCD) in 2010. Cyprus is a tax haven. CDEL is the only company in India which has received funds from this Cyprus-based company. It was alleged that numerous evasion techniques have been used in the conversion of the above stated CCD into equity shares by CDEL.

IT Dept also reckons that during its investigation, it found that many employees and directors of the CCD Group companies were being given loans through KR Pradeep's Lakshmi Vilas Bank which, in turn, were diverted to group companies. The loans were being given rampantly without assessing the credit worthiness of the individuals relying on bogus purchase guarantee letters by CCD group. Some of these loans, it is felt by IT Dept, were being used to prop up the shares of CCD.

What makes the whole thing even more curious is that while VGS was on a selling spree to extricate himself from the mountain of debt, why was Income Tax Department harassing him? As mentioned earlier, in May, he was on the verge of doing a second distress sale - Global Village, is a 4-million-sq ft tenanted office space located on a 120-acre campus. It counts Accenture and Mphasis as among its tenants, besides having the headquarters of Mindtree.

Did his friendship with DKS cost him his life in the end? His problems with the IT department and ED started with raids in 2017. Following tax raids on DKS, the agencies claimed to have unearthed undisclosed transactions between the two. In fact, political gossip in the state was rife that his father-in-law S.M. Krishna joined the BJP as a precautionary shield against his son-in-law from further prosecution.

 

  

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  • Roshan Rodrigues, Mangalore

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    ಕಥೆ ಶುರುವಾಗುವುದು,
    ಬಳ್ಳಾರಿ ದೂಳಿನಿಂದ ಗಳಿಸಿದ ಹಣ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಮಂತ್ರಿ ಹಾಗು ಅವರ ಆಪ್ತರಿಂದ ಕಾಫಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೇರುತ್ತದೆ , ಯಾಕೆಂದರೆ ದೂಳು ತೆಗೆದು ಸ್ವಚ್ಛ ಗೊಳಿಸಲು , ಸ್ವಚ್ಛತೆ ನಡೆಯುತ ಇತ್ತು ಆದರೆ 2016 ನವೆಂಬರ್ 8 ಹಳೆ ನೋಟಿನ ಕಥೆ ಮುಗಿಸಿದ ಸರಕಾರ,ಹಳೆ ನೋಟನ್ನು ಹೊಸತಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಲು ಸೋತ ಕಾಫಿ, ಚುನಾವಣೆ ತಯಾರಿಗೆ ಹಣದ ಅವಶ್ಯಕತೆ ಪಾರ್ಟಿಗಳಿಂದ , ಧಮ್ಕಿ, ಇನ್ಕಮ್ ಟ್ಯಾಕ್ಸ್ ದಾಳಿ, ಇವರಿಗೆ ಹಣ ನೀಡಲು ಸೋತ ಕಾಫಿ,ಇವುಗಳಿಗೆ ಮಾವ ನವರು ಇದ್ಕಕೆ ಅಡ್ಡಿ ಯಾದರು ? ಅವರ್ರನೆ ಏಪ್ರಿಲ್ 2017ರಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಗೆ ಸೇರ್ಪಡೆ ಗೊಳಿಸಿದರು , ಅದೇ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ಎಂಪಿ ಯವರು ಕಾಫಿ ತೋಟದ ಮಾಲಿಕಃರಾದರು ಜಗತ್ತಿಗೆ ತಿಳಿದ ವಿಷ್ಯ , ಕಾಫಿ ದುಡು ನೀಡಲು ಆಗದೆ ಕಾಫಿ ತೋಟ ನೀಡಿದರೆ ? ದುಡು ನೀಡಿದವರು ಕಾಫಿಯ ಷೇರು ಗಲ್ಲನು ಕಡಿಮೆ ಬೆಳೆಗೆ ಕೇಳಲು ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿದರು ಅದೇ ಸಮಯಕ್ಕೆ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಸರಕಾರ ಪತನ ಎರಡು ದಿನದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಫಿ ಕಾಣೆಯಾಗುತ್ತಾರೆ ಮಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನೇತ್ರಾವತಿ ಮಡಿಲಲ್ಲಿ , ಎಂಪಿ ಯವರಿಂದ ಅಗತ್ಯ ಸೇವೆಗೆ ರಕ್ಷಣಾ ಸಚಿವರ ಮೊರೆ ಹಾಗು ಹೆಲಿಕಾಫ್ಟರಿಗೆ ಒತ್ತಾಯ ? ಯಾಕೆ0ದರೆ ಸತ್ತರೆ ಕಾಫಿ ನನ್ನ ದುಡ್ಡಿನ ಗಟ್ಟಿ ಏನು ? ಕೊನೆಗೂ ಕಾಫಿಯಾ ಜೀವ ಹಾರಿ ಹೋಯಿತು , ಮುಖ್ಯ ಮಂತ್ರಿಗಳ ಮಾತು ಯಾಕೆ ಅವರು ಜೀವ ತೆಗೆದರು ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಲ ಕಿಂತ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಅಸ್ತಿ ಇತ್ತು ? ಕಾಫಿ ಸೈನಿಕರಾಗಿ ಅವರ ಕುಟುಂಬಕಗಿ ಸತ್ತರು ಅವ್ರೆ ಇಲ್ಲದಾಗ ಯಾರಲ್ಲಿ ಇವರು ದುಡ್ಡು ಕೇಳುವರು ? ದುಡ್ಡು ತೆಗೆದು ಕೊಂಡವರೇ ಇಲ್ಲದಾಗ ನೀಡುವವರು ಯಾರು ? ದಾಖಲೆ ಅವಶ್ಯ ಅಲ್ಲವೇ ಇದು ಒಂದು ಕತೆ ಯಾಗಿ ತಿಳಿಯಿರಿ

    DisAgree [5] Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse

  • Sooraj, mulky

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    Satya harichandra of Indian Politics

    DisAgree [2] Agree [16] Reply Report Abuse

  • Raju, Karkala

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    Don't know how many more people loose their life because of this person

    DisAgree [12] Agree [25] Reply Report Abuse

  • flavian dsouza, chik/bengalur

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    please stop accusing people and insulting them in public . We need to treat everyone as human beings .
    why mke some guilty without knowing facts !!!!weshould never publish such articles

    DisAgree [25] Agree [23] Reply Report Abuse

  • Monty Dotor, Mangalore

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    I doubt the suicide theory.
    1.Why would someone come all the way from Bangalore to Mangalore to commit suicide? That too by car.
    2.The person being educated will know of less painful methods than jumping into a river.
    3.A t shirt would not come off if someone jumps into a river.
    4.The body had other injuries.
    5. Many had commented that the signature in the letter was not his.
    6
    .Though this area is notorious-there was a kidnapping of a boy related to gold smuggling and a 3 crore ransom demand few days back, yet no cctvs installed(incidentally commercial establishments are recently asked to install CCTV)
    7. Timing of transfer of PC.
    8.Siddarths assets were much more than liabilities.

    Hope truth will come out.

    DisAgree [8] Agree [36] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jossey Saldanha, Nashville

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    Even DKS was harassed by BJP 😣😣😣

    DisAgree [36] Agree [25] Reply Report Abuse

  • Prabhu, Karkala

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    Ye tho sirf shuruvat hai. Aage aage dekho hota hai kya

    DisAgree [4] Agree [25] Reply Report Abuse

  • ad, mangaluru

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    .............father-in-law S.M. Krishna joined the BJP as a precautionary shield against his son-in-law from further prosecution.


    Is BJP Saviour of "Fraud" and black money?

    DisAgree [19] Agree [25] Reply Report Abuse

  • mahesh, Mangalore

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    More the investigations happen, more will be revealed.
    This is just the tip of iceberg.

    DisAgree [3] Agree [12] Reply Report Abuse

  • YOGI THUNTA, MANGALURU - NEAR PUMPWELL CIRCLE

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    Congress to be banned forever as they dont have any credibility as a ELECTORAL political party ! Its like a similar to any terrorist organization ! Guys salute siddaratha who given a jobs to 50000 which is equivalent to 2 crore families ! what congress has done ! celebrating TIPPU JAYANTHI and appeasing of particular minority to become majority in this country ? Shame on you SIDDHARAMYUAA !

    DisAgree [34] Agree [27] Reply Report Abuse

  • Satya, Mangalore

    Thu, Aug 01 2019

    Funny title to the article, why can't it be death due to tax terrorism? Did Dk shi succumb? What was SM Krishna doing? It's all murky and mysterious, the end result is that a nice man had to miserably end his life😪, sad

    DisAgree [6] Agree [20] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jennifer, Mangalore

    Thu, Aug 01 2019

    "In fact, political gossip in the state was rife that his father-in-law S.M. Krishna joined the BJP as a precautionary shield against his son-in-law from further prosecution"

    The requirement to join BJP wasn't for the Father-in-Law - if the diseased had joined, the raids could have been stopped outright and he would not have a dead soul today. This is the reality in India today.

    Will BJP accounts will ever be scrutinised ? Will Jay Shah will ever be raided ? Never ! Therefore, do not blame DKS - he is doing his bit to answer his own riddles. Each and every citizen is responsible for his own mess, nobody else.

    DisAgree [21] Agree [24] Reply Report Abuse

  • Rathan, Mangalore

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    Jennifer
    If every individual is responsible for his /her action why you blame BJP?
    Double std?

    DisAgree [13] Agree [26] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jennifer, Mangalore

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    Yes, Rathan, so is BJP is its' leaders. Read the complete para, not just the last sentence.

    DisAgree [10] Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse

  • Edmond, Mangalore

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    Jennifer, What is there other than pointing at BJP in ur comment? Congress Ruled and looted for 60 years. Let BJP also do the same thing for 60 more years. then will decide who is better chor. What do you say? when Congress was in power they also used to do the same thing right? If any case is there they used to give it for CBI and get clean chit. if they have the govt in state then they will give it only for CID, if the government at center is other than Congress. Right? I am not supporting any corrupt person. If Shah is corrupt one or other day someone will take action. But few years back IT raid happened on him too and declared clean. I hope you have the info on that raid. and the raid was not during NDA time. It was done during UPA time. Its clear on news channel also that CCD owner took huge amount of money from Some chor politicians to make it as white in 2016. Due demonetization he had to put it into bank and IT started to keep an eye on him. Basically the main person behind is some popular politician of Karnataka.

    DisAgree [7] Agree [16] Report Abuse

  • Dan M, Dubai / Mangalore

    Thu, Aug 01 2019

    Looks for me Dks more cleaner than Siddharth in spiritual eyes!!!

    DisAgree [11] Agree Reply Report Abuse

  • AMAR NATHAL, MANGALORE

    Thu, Aug 01 2019

    Intriguing is the comment that political gossip in the state was rife that his father-in-law S.M. Krishna joined the BJP as a precautionary shield against his son-in-law from further prosecution. Congress or any other political party would have done the same!

    DisAgree [1] Agree [5] Reply Report Abuse

  • Sanjay, Hebri

    Thu, Aug 01 2019

    Never make friendship with a wiper snake....it will bite you one day.

    DisAgree [4] Agree [20] Reply Report Abuse

  • Kunar, Kinnigoli

    Thu, Aug 01 2019

    WHY THERE IS NO RAIDS IN JAY SHAH........MODI ULLU BANAYING....... .

    DisAgree [10] Agree [25] Reply Report Abuse

  • Mahendra Lal, Mangalore/New Delhi

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    Congress while in power alredy interrogated him. Nothing find. Declared immediately all are more honest people than us. Kuch hai toh milega na.

    DisAgree [5] Agree [13] Reply Report Abuse

  • H. Almeida., Bendur/Andheri

    Thu, Aug 01 2019

    Why Industrialists, from eminent families, don't commit suicide ? Why is it that only entrepreneurs, who use netas, to prosper and grow, using loopholes in the system, get cornered by creditors and finaly out of frustration, end their lives ????

    DisAgree Agree [17] Reply Report Abuse

  • H. Almeida., Bendur/Andheri

    Thu, Aug 01 2019

    Why Industrialists, from eminent families, don't commit suicide ? Why is it that only entrepreneurs, who use netas, to prosper and grow, using loopholes in the system, get cornered by creditors and finaly out of frustration, end their lives ????

    DisAgree [1] Agree [11] Reply Report Abuse

  • Arthur, Mangalore

    Thu, Aug 01 2019

    BJP's tax terrorism has led to the tragic death of Siddhartha.

    DisAgree [80] Agree [83] Reply Report Abuse

  • SB, Mlore

    Thu, Aug 01 2019

    HAHAHA..... like Rafael, EVM,.... now this. You guys wont give up despite open evidence against your party's evil acts.

    DisAgree [16] Agree [23] Reply Report Abuse

  • Harishkumar, airy

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    Yes BJP is TAX chowkidhar those who are financial terrorist.

    DisAgree [14] Agree [15] Reply Report Abuse

  • Mahendra Lal, Mangalore/New Delhi

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    First find out about last call from where it comes...D K Shivkumar Javed Accountant..or from underworld. Siddarth transacting money thru hawala..which operating none other than underworld people. Chances are more they kept demand for ransom which siddharth unable to fufill..due to much of loss and overburden debt. May be D K wants to return some money to siddharth which not able to took place..for that reason often calling him. Even in homefront may have some problem which cannot be come to know others. Possibility is more to divert attention totally forcibly someone instructed him to write blaming on others. DG of IT is interogatting was very honest person. First of all you wants to evade tax paying...secondly keep your sinking business floating for name sake...how is it possible. Without big gotala State's Chief Minister from popular party wont join any other party for rescue one self. He held higest position on party..how did he jumped to other. It means he understand the situation correctly where siddarth taken wrong step..from which he cannot escape.

    DisAgree [6] Agree [21] Reply Report Abuse

  • DSouza, Mangaluru

    Fri, Aug 02 2019

    Any views on the money laundering, funneling funds out of india and other nice schemes ;)

    DisAgree [2] Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse

  • Rohith Dalmeida, Mallikatta,Mangaluru

    Thu, Aug 01 2019

    Please join BJP to save yourself from it Dept.

    DisAgree [79] Agree [72] Reply Report Abuse


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