IT raids on advertising firms in Raipur & Bhopal

BHOPAL

: The income tax (I-T) department on Friday carried out a major search operation across 30 premises in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on properties belonging to influential media advertising companies, allegedly associated with some top level leaders of both BJP and Congress.


These companies had a turnover of around Rs 400 crore, say sources. Officials claim they had made huge cash transactions, evading taxes worth crores.

The searches continued till late evening. Sources say these companies had amassed large tracts of land in and around

Raipur

and Bhopal, and were on the department’s radar for some time. It was the second major operation by the I-T department after Covid-19 lockdown. “All the officers directly involved in the searches were provided PPE kits. Their temperature was measured, and social distancing was maintained under watchful eyes of senior officers. It meant use of more resources, such as vehicles, but this SOP will be the norm for future searches and surveys,” said a senior I-T official.

Officials refused to reveal how much cash and jewellery had been seized.

200 officers and personnel were involved in the operation
However, officials said they have got details of several lockers in different banks that have now been sealed for investigation. “The searches were conducted on 30 locations — five residential premises and 10 offices in Chhattisgarh and 20 in MP — associated with the top management and some employees of these firms. Some of the apartments yielded a large volume of documents associated with the groups’ financial transactions,” said an I-T official.

Officers from Indore, Jabalpur and surrounding areas were roped in for the raids, which began early morning. About 200 officers and personnel were involved in the operation. Investigations are on.