The raids were conducted in Delhi, Lucknow, Meerut, Baghpat, Noida, Greater Noida, and Mainpuri, among other places
As part of its ongoing crackdown on benami transactions, Income Tax officials on Wednesday conducted raids at 15 premises of three IAS officers of the Uttar Pradesh cadre. The raids were conducted in Delhi, Lucknow, Meerut, Baghpat, Noida, Greater Noida, and Mainpuri, among other places.
Multiple teams raided the premises of Vimal Kumar Sharma, Additional CEO of Greater Noida Authority, Shankar Tiwari, director in the state Health Department, and Satyendra Kumar Singh, Special Secretary (Prisons) and a former deputy magistrate of Firozabad and Ghaziabad. The I-T teams also raided their relatives and drivers. The premises of Mamta Sharma, an RTO in Meerut and the wife of Vimal Kumar Sharma, was also searched.
At about around 8 a.m. on Wednesday, 24 I-T officials raided Chota Bazaar, Bhogaon (Mainpuri.), the native place of Sharma, who was not present when the tax officials arrived. His brothers Dr V K Sharma and Sharad Sharma were there. I-T prevented anyone from leaving the house. Local Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rajendra Soni, who was present at the time, was also prevented from leaving.
On the basis of intelligence inputs about alleged benami deals, I-T officials stormed the Sharma residence and offices at Ghaziabad, Eath, Agra and Mainpuri. A total of eight warrants are being executed in these four cities in connection with Sharma's deals.
"We have captured various incriminating property documents in this operation," tax officials told DNA.
Tiwari was raided in connection with the I-T department's probe against him on charges of tax evasion. Again, eight warrants have been executed in five cities – Meerut, Baghpat, Greater Noida, Lucknow, and Delhi – against Tiwari.
A joint team of the tax department from Lucknow and Delhi raided six premises of Singh in Lucknow and Noida. Singh had been the controversial vice-chairman of Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), overseeing key projects during the previous Samajwadi Party (SP) regime.
A top UP tax official said the raids are related to alleged Benami transactions.
The I-T department had carried out similar raids against some other UP bureaucrats last month, and has executed searches against 10 senior government officials, pursuing its policy of unearthing black money and introducing accountability and probity in public life.
WHAT THEY FOUND
- Hriday Shankar Tewari (IAS): Rs 90 lakh cash, 2 lockers
- Vimal Kumar Sharma (IAS): Documents related to various properties and other assets
- Satyendra Kumar Singh (IAS): Rs 30 lakh cash, one locker
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