Days after G Janardhan Reddy’s daughter’s grand wedding stole headlines for its lavish resplendence, Income Tax Department has raided the mining tycoon’s offices in Bellari.
According to CNN-News18, the I-T officials entered Reddy’s offices and cordoned off the premises at around 12.30 pm. The raids were still underway, at the time of writing this report.
The I-T officials also conducted surveys on at least ten locations of high-end event management firms, catering and multi-media service providers who were engaged for the extravagant wedding, according to PTI.
Officials said that taxmen visited seven locations in bengaluru and three in Hyderabad of those event management companies which were given contracts to give a blockbuster look for the wedding of Bramhani last week in the city.
They said the department, after receiving reports of high spending for the event, initiated the action and is checking the account books, payment receipts and contract portfolios of these firms who specialise in creating special ambience and customised display for high-end spending clientele during their special events like weddings.
The firms include those providing special swiss tents, expensive cutlery, multi-cuisine food and pyrotechnic dealers who brought a lavish style to the event. Under the survey action, tax sleuths visit business premises of the trader/operator and make analysis of the available stock and record it whereas under search operations both residential and business premises are visited by the
taxman and seizure of cash and incriminating documents, if any, is effected.
Once the scrutiny of accounts and contract books is done, they said, further action of issuing notices to investigate tax evasion by both the contractor and the contractee will be undertaken.
The CNN-News18 report added that the BJP, whose prominent ministers were in attendance of the alleged Rs 500-crore worth of grand affair, has distanced themselves from the I-T crackdown. The party said that its leaders’ decision to attend the event was made on a personal level. However, it added that the opulence was uncalled for and could have been avoided, given the timing of the event.
The grand wedding of the mining baron and former minister’s daughter took place at the sprawling Palace Grounds in Bangalore on 16 November. According to Deccan Chronicle, just a day before the five-day-long lavish event came to its conclusion, an RTI activist T Narsimha Murthy had filed a complaint with the Directorate General of Income Tax.
