Kolkata, Feb 9: The officials of the Income Tax (IT) department have been conducting simultaneous raids and search operations at 20 locations in and around Kolkata since Monday morning.
One of the places where such raid and search operations by the IT officials are being conducted includes the residence of an influential businessman from the state at the posh Raja Santosh Road at Alipore in south Kolkata.
Simultaneous raid and search operations are also being conducted at the said businessman’s office at Chetla also in South Kolkata. However, the officials have refused to name the businessman concerned.
Sources aware of the development said that the search operations are underway based on charges of income tax evasion and a Disproportionate Assets to known source of income case filed against the businessman and the entity owned by him earlier.
Another team of IT officials, it is learnt, is conducting simultaneous raid and search operations at a residential flat of another businessman at a posh housing complex at Action Area-III of New Town on the northern outskirts of Kolkata.
Similarly, raid and search operations are being conducted at three offices, one at Ecospace in New Town, second at Park Street in central Kolkata, and the third near Gurusaday Dutta Road in South Kolkata.
All the actions are related to cases of massive income tax evasion, unaccounted assets, and assets disproportionate to the income. Another place where a similar raid and search operation by the IT officials is going on is the residence of a real estate promoter at Barasat, the district headquarters of North 24 Parganas.
Each raiding team of IT officials is escorted by the central armed police forces personnel. However, IT officials here are maintaining total silence over the recoveries made so far through such raid and search operations.
During the last couple of months, there had been a series of raids and search operations by the officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in different parts of West Bengal in relation to several money laundering cases. Now, the IT officials, too, have become active in the state.
IANS
