IT Department Dismisses “Yeddyurappa Diary” As “Forgery Document”
Whatever came out in the magazine report was not part of the department’s seized material, said Karnataka’s income tax chief.
The Income Tax Department dismissed Yeddyurappa’s diary, containing alleged bribe payments to top BJP brass, as a "forgery document" and a "set of loose papers",
The Congress, citing a media report, had demanded a Lokpal probe into the charge that the state BJP chief had paid Rs 1,800 crore as bribe to the party top brass, which Yeddyurappa had dismissed as "atrocious and malicious."
"Our conclusion after studying it was that it is a forgery document. It is a set of loose papers," principal chief Income Tax Commissioner of Karnataka-Goa Region B R Balakrishnan told reporters.
There was an attempt to just make use of the diary to influence some other investigation, which we have not succumbed to. We have done our job in this case as well.B R Balakrishnan, Principal Chief Income Tax Commissioner, Karnataka-Goa Region
The documents, which were photocopies, were seized from Karnataka water resource minister D K Shivakumar's residence during a raid carried out by the Income Tax department on Aug. 2, 2017, he said.
The papers were sent to the forensic science laboratory in Hyderabad, which returned it saying that they need the original papers, Balakrishnan added.
He said that whatever came out in the magazine (Caravan) which broke the story was not part of the Income Tax department's seized material. Balakrishnan stated that in view of various Supreme Court decisions on admissible evidence, "this particular diary has no evidentiary value."
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had said at a press conference in New Delhi that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should come forward and clarify on the matter. Yeddyurappa had said that "all issues raised by Congress leaders are irrelevant and false."
"The issue is a closed chapter," he had said, adding that he was consulting legal experts on the issue and thinking about filing a defamation case.
Meanwhile, the state BJP demanded that the Congress leaders apologise after Balakrishnan’s clarification,
"Congress leaders who levelled false allegations against BJP and its leaders stand exposed in public. If Congress leaders have left any sensibility in them and respect for public sentiments, they should immediately apologise," the party said.