In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, several high
profile politicians and their business associates have been searched and
raided by the Income Tax department.
The flurry of raids prompted several leaders including Chief
Ministers Chandrababu Naidu and HD Kumaraswamy to point out that the
raids are being done 'selectively' in order to affect the campaign of
opposition leaders.
Here is a list of all the high profile I-T raids carried out in south India in the last few weeks.
Raids on opposition parties:
Karnataka
1. In a search that started before dawn, Income Tax officials carried
out raids at the ancestral home of Karnataka Minor Irrigation Minister
CS Puttaraju of the JD(S) on March 28. Raids were also conducted at the
home of Puttaraju’s nephew Ashok located in Mysuru city’s Vijayanagar
area. Ashok is a contractor for national and state highway works. The
homes of PWD Minister HD Revanna's associates Ashwath Narayan Reddy and
Raya Gowda were raided in Hassan on the same day. The sleuths also
conducted raids on the Public Works Department office in Hassan.
2. On April 11, Income Tax officials raided the campaign office and
other locations in Bengaluru connected to Rizwan Arshad, who is the
Congress candidate from Bengaluru (Central) constituency. Most of the
offices and buildings raided belonged to business persons close to him,
and Rizwan called it an 'act of vendetta' against him. Although the I-T
Department is yet to issue an official statement, sources have confirmed
that the three persons who were raided are Kamal Pasha, Amanullah Khan,
and Naeez Khan. These three businessmen are reportedly helping Rizwan
with the entire campaigning process.
3. Searches were conducted on business persons in Bengaluru, Hassan,
and Mandya over alleged tax evasion on April 15. The I-T Department
conducted search and seizure operations at the homes of PWD Minister HD
Revanna’s associates including former MLC Shivaram Patel, DCC bank
President Honnavalli, Karle Indresh, and his relative Pappani in Hassan.
I-T department sources said that the searches were conducted in the
residences and factory premises of these associates. Revanna’s son
Prajwal Revanna is contesting elections from Hassan.
Andhra Pradesh
1. On April 3, Income Tax officials conducted a raid at the residence
of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam
(TTD) Trust Board Chairman Putta Sudhakar Yadav, who was also the
party’s MLA candidate for Mydukur. Yadav is also the chairman of PSK
Infrastructures and Projects Limited, a noted construction firm.
2. On April 6, the houses of TDP MP CM Ramesh in Kadapa district were
searched by 40 policemen. This was the second TDP leader to be searched
in the run-up to the polls.
3. I-T officials conducted raids on different locations connected to
TDP MP Galla Jayadev on April 11. The raid was focused on Gurrappa
Naidu, chief accountant working with Amara Raja Batteries, a company
owned by Jayadev. The TDP MP alleged that he was targeted for being a
critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Tamil Nadu
1. Following a search at the residence of DMK Treasurer Duraimurugan,
bundles of currency notes were seized from a cement godown in Vellore
in a raid by Income Tax officials on April 1. The godown belonged to
local DMK functionary Poonjolai Srinivasan. Polling in the constituency
has been countermanded and an FIR has been registered against
Srinivasan, Damodaran who is believed to be the owner of the godown, and
Kathir Anand, who was also the DMK’s candidate for the Lok Sabha from
the constituency.
2. Unaccounted cash worth nearly Rs 1.48 crore was recovered from RK
Nagar MLA TTV Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) office
in Theni district, Tamil Nadu on April 16. Income Tax officials
discovered 94 packets and envelopes of cash with ward numbers and voter
lists. Rs 300 had allegedly been set aside per voter.
3. Income Tax sleuths searched the residence of DMK's Thoothukudi
candidate Kanimozhi on the night of April 16. After almost two hours of
search operations, the I-T officials returned empty-handed from the DMK
leader's residence.
Raids on BJP and its allies
1. In Karnataka, I-T officials recovered nearly Rs 1 crore in cash in
a raid of the house and vehicle of BJP functionaries in Uttara Kannada
district on April 15. The car of Krishna Rama Devadiga, Uttara Kannada
BJP General Secretary, was raided along with the house of Ramakant
Hegde, a local BJP leader. In all, over Rs 80 lakh was seized in the
raids.