Morning shocker: I-T raids Puneeth, Shivaraj, Sudeep, Yash, 3 producers

BENGALURU: The income tax (I-T) department on Thursday conducted simultaneous raids at 27 places belonging to members of the Kannada film industry — properties of actors Shivaraj Kumar, Puneeth Rajkumar, Sudeep and Yash, and producers Rockline Venkatesh, CR Manohar and Vijay Kiragandur.
At the end of the day, a team of more than 50 I-T officials had confiscated property documents, cash, gold and other valuables.They did not estimate the extent of tax evasion, if any, or other irregularities.

“We had been watching these people for a while. The searches will continue for 2-3 days,” a senior official from the investigation wing of the department said, adding it was premature to estimate the value of what could eventually be seized from these searches.
Film industry sources confirmed that seven people were raided, and that the officials were conducting searches through the day.
Vijay Kiragandur has produced Yash’s latest ‘KGF’ and Puneeth’s ‘Raajakumara’.CR Manohar produced ‘The Villain’, which had Sudeep and Shivaraj in the lead. ‘Rockline’ Venkatesh has produced several Kannada movies and a few of Tamil actor Rajnikanth. There’s a mall that bears his name; besides, he runs a school.
Venkatesh was the first member to be raided on Thursday with officials landing at his residence at 6.15am. “Venkatesh sent away his grandchildren to his relatives’ houses as he did not want them to feel traumatised,” a source close to the family said.
At Puneeth’s house, sources said, officials demanded he submit all documents relating to properties he owns. They documented the weight and value of gold and silver at home. “They had brought weighing scales and goldsmiths with them,” a source said.
I-T raids: Actors claim they haven’t done anything wrong
The I-T officials also visited the house of Yash’s wife, Radhika Pandit. The raid continued till late evening. On reaching Bengaluru, Yash checked into a hotel, where tax officials questioned him. “I’m not afraid as I haven’t done anything wrong. We should allow IT officials to do their duty and not speculate anything,” Yash said.
Actor Sudeep said, “Nothing to worry about the raid, which has nothing to do with politics.” As the news of the raids broke, Puneeth’s fans began criticising the department. “He is the son of the father of Kannada films, Rajkumar. This is sad,” said Nanda Kishore, a fan. Ditto at Puneeth’s brother Shivaraj Kumar’s house. The senior Rajkumar brother was asked to produce salary slips and documents of his assets.
While Puneeth and Shivaraj were at home when the raids took place, actors Sudeep and Yash were out on work when their properties were searched and they rushed to Bengaluru. Sudeep was in Mysuru for a shoot; Yash was in Mumbai promoting ‘KGF’.
At Yash’s house, officials verified documents relating to Yashomarga Trust, founded by the actor, besides inspecting his cars and searching the house. The house of ‘KGF’ producer Vijay Kiragandur was raided.
An officer said searches were conducted at residences and offices of a few other people connected to the film industry and the raided people. The officer said, “Once we complete the searches in two days, we can, perhaps, estimate the value of seizures and confiscations. Even then, these people get an opportunity to prove they can account for all the things.”