As ED, CBI target TRS ministers, state GST officials swoop down on Rajagopal Reddy firm

As the searches are happening immediately after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on granite quarry operators, including the relatives of Telangana Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar and MP Vaddraju Ravichandra, it is giving rise to the speculation that the raids are the state government’s answer to the ED’s raids.

In the “granite raids”, the ED sleuths had seized ₹1.08 crore in their searches in six companies on 9 and 10 November, and even hinted at the companies’ connection with Chinese companies owned by Li Wenhuo, whose name appeared in the infamous Panama papers.

Sushee Infra targeted

At about 11 am on Monday, about 25 teams comprising 150 SGST officials descended on the clutch of the offices of the Sushee group of companies and have been making searches since then.

Rajagopal Reddy’s son Sankeerth Reddy is the managing director of these companies.

According to sources, the SGST teams are being led by SGST Commissioner Neetu Prasad.

Searches are going on at the residences of the directors of these companies. The officials are making raids suspecting tax evasion.

As the ED is on a crackdown on the TRS leaders’ businesses and hastened investigation into the Delhi liquor scam, in which those who were allegedly connected with the TRS’ big guns have already been arrested, the State GST officials are going after the Rajagopal Reddy’s businesses apparently with the intent to halt the march of the BJP in the state at a time elections are barely a year away.