All the designers raided today constitute the cream of Indian fashion industry. Ritu Kumar runs a chain of high-profile boutiques in India and abroad under the label Ritu's. She is also known for her exotic creations for sundry Miss India participants in international pageants. While ManishMalhotra, Bollywood's favourite designer, recently made a splash with the high-profile opening of his boutique, Reverie in partnership with Avanti Birla. Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, better known as Boys in the fashion trade and to their exclusive clientele, are unofficially acknowledged as the most expensive designers in the country.

Though the Income-Tax officials refused to divulge names today, they confirmed that a huge number of documents were under scrutiny, and large-scale concealment of income was revealed through unaccounted sales and unexplained expenditure. Majority of investments are in the form of property, officers said.

One farmhouse belonging to a Delhi-based designer also raided today is worth at least Rs 8 crore, it was learnt.

Thirteen bank lockers have been sealed, mostly in Mumbai. No statements were recorded today. About 200 officers participated in the operation. More details would be available only tomorrow when the papers are examined thoroughly, sources said.

Of the 35premises raided today, 24 are in Mumbai, seven in Delhi, four in Calcutta, two in Chennai and one each in Amritsar and Jaipur. Most of the designers were at home when the raids began.

The fashion industry, which has mushroomed in an unorganised manner over the last 10 years, has recently been going through a detailed scrutiny by the media over the quality of designs, the hype, the exorbitant costs of garments and the ubiquitous allegations of plagiarism. Now the Income-Tax Department seems to have joined the scrutiny adding to the industry's woes.