Calcutta, Sept 6: The income tax department said on Monday it had seized assets worth Rs 11 crore during raids last month on a wide spectrum of targets ranging from a jute baron and a promoter of a medical centre to stockbrokers, plywood traders and public sector undertakings. The release did not disclose any names, and the officials refused to comment.However, independent inquiries by The Financial Express revealed that the jute baron raided was JJ Wadhwa of Champdany Jute Mills, who also owns Anglo India Jute, Wellington, Shalimar and Naffarchand. The office and factory premises of the group was raided on August 24.
The search covered residential, office and factory premises at Calcutta, Delhi and Mumbai. Assets worth around Rs 1.35 crore was seized which includes cash of Rs 32,45,000, jewellery worth Rs 72,51,977 and other assets worth Rs 29,06,000.
The release said, "evidence relating to substantial undisclosed cash, sales of various kinds of wastes and scrap of jute mills have beenrecovered. Evidence of bogus donations to trusts floated by the group itself has also been seized."
Sources said that evidence of payments made outside of books of accounts has also been found. It is also learnt that the medical centre promoter raided was GD Kothari of Kothari Medical Centre, who also has interests in tea plantations, jute, cotton yarn, paints and machine tools.
Simultaneous search operations were conducted at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Coimbatore. Apart from the office and residence of the managing director, offices and residences of other executives were also searched.
According to IT officials, assets worth Rs 1.38 crore were seized, including cash worth Rs 24 lakh. Several premises, including bank lockers were under restraint order of the department.
The IT release said that the raid on "a group engaged in the business of share-broking" at Calcutta and Mumbai yielded Rs 51.50 lakh in cash and Rs 1.84 crore worth of jewellery, and other assets worth nearly Rs 2.50crore. Other assets of Rs 8.68 lakh were also seized, according to sources. The market sources named the broker as S Dalmia.
According to the IT release, the raids on the plywood dealer yielded Rs 75 lakh in cash and Rs 5.50 lakh in jewellery. Searches on a Jalpaiguri-based group engaged in hotel and timber business yielded Rs 27.50 lakh in assets. In another raid, assets worth Rs 14.14 lakh were seized from a dealer in steel products. None of these targets were named.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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