I-T officials also conducted raids at 14 locations connected to private chit fund companies, reportedly linked to relatives, friends of BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath.
Financer-turned-movie producer Abhishek Agarwal. (Commons)
The Income Tax (I-T) department and GST officials have carried out raids at the Film Nagar office of financer-turned-movie producer Abhishek Agarwal in Hyderabad and examined tax receipts.
Agarwal, who has a production house named Abhishek Agarwal, has produced three blockbuster movies — The Kashmir Files, The Vaccine War, and Karthikeya 2.
He is currently producing one more movie – Tiger Nageswara Rao — starring Ravi Teja and others. The movie is slated to be released on 20 October.
The raids come just at the time the movie producer is gearing up to meet media personnel to promote his forthcoming film.
The Bollywood release of Agarwal’s film Tiger Nageswara Rao and the money he is pumping into its marketing is also said to have reportedly caught the attention of the central agencies.
The I-T sleuths examined bank documents and other transactions carried out by the film producer during the raids that continued till the Tuesday evening.
The raids are also being seen as a huge surprise for the fact that Agarwal is considered close to the ruling BJP party as his films, like The Kashmir Files, have supported the saffron party’s agenda.
However, there are also claims that Agarwal has nothing to worry about as he is known for maintaining proper accounts.
Meanwhile, other forthcoming projects of Agarwal include G2 and The Delhi Files movies.
Coincidently, the raid on Agarwal comes a few days after I-T officials conducted multiple raids at the premises of private chit fund companies and seized crucial documents.
A few days ago, the sleuths conducted raids at the residences and offices of industrialists, chit fund companies, and an e-commerce company in the state in connection with various financial transactions and tax payment issues.
The I-T department formed separate teams and fanned out to different locations in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad to carry out raids. As many as 100 teams conducted searches that continued over three days. Crucial documents related to various financial transactions and bank documents, as well as laptops and computers were seized.
At a time when politicians are busy making preparations for the Assembly elections in Telangana, the I-T raids have left them fuming and are prompting them to exercise more caution while doing cash transactions.
On 5 October, the I-T officials conducted raids at 14 locations connected to chit funds and private agencies, reportedly linked to relatives and friends of Jubilee Hills BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath. The objective of these raids was to investigate potential tax evasion and irregularities in their income tax return filings.
A total of 40 teams were dispatched to various areas, including Ameerpet, Yellareddyguda, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, KPHB, and Shamshabad.
The I-T teams were reportedly brought in from Bengaluru and Odisha when irregularities were suspected and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel were deployed to ensure security during the raid operations.
In Ameerpet, the I-T officials conducted raids at the office premises of Pooja Krishna Chit Fund India Private Limited, as well as the residences of its directors Somepalli Naga Rajeswari, Krishna Prasad Doppalapudi, and Pooja Lakshmi Doppalapudi.
As per reports, it is suspected that the company may have engaged in cash transactions to potentially evade taxes.
Meanwhile, another team carried out a raid at the office of Jeevan Shakti Chit Fund Private Ltd (JSCFPL) in Ameerpet and at the residences of the firm’s directors Gutta Venkateswara Rao and Katragadda Ramesh. Katragadda Ramesh is known to be involved in multiple business activities within the city.
All three entities, including the chit fund companies and a third entity named Hasini Distributors Private Limited, were registered at the same address in Yellareddyguda.
In Kukatpally Housing Board Colony (KPHB), the I-T department conducted raids at the properties of Indu Aranya and Fortune. During the operation, they scrutinised documents and individual transactions associated with a person named Arikepudi Koteswara Rao.
The I-T sleuths also raided a luxurious residence owned by an individual named Raghuram, who is engaged in various chit funds and finance companies.
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