Hyderabad/ Bengaluru: The income-tax department on Monday held surveys and raids on mining baron and former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy’s assets, wedding agencies, multi-media service providers and high-end event management firms.
The surveys and raids followed after the lavish wedding of Mr Reddy’s daughter Brahmani with Hyderabad-based industrialist Rajiv Reddy in which the former minister allegedly spent Rs 500 crore.
Nearly 10 teams from the I-T department are in Bengaluru and Bellary and about three teams are involved in rides in the city. An I-T official said that besides raids, a few other teams were engaged in surveys in both the states.
The I-T teams said that about Rs 500 crore to Rs 550 crore was spent for the lavish marriage on November 16. In view of the demonetisation drive across the country, officials are suspecting that a few event management firms and workers were given gold ornaments instead of money.
Gali, kin to be grilled by I-T men
The surveys on event management firms involved with the wedding were reportedly aimed at gathering information on the amount spent.
“The I-T sleuths conducted the survey at seven locations in Bengaluru and Ballari and three in Hyderabad and questioned the contractors, the high-end event management firms, catering and multi-media service providers, who were hired for the ultra lavish wedding,” an I-T official said.
He said officers are collecting the vouchers and receipts of payments and documentary evidence, including videos of the wedding, the functions and preparations of the wedding.
They are checking the account books, payment receipts and contract portfolios of the firms, which created the special effects, including the Swiss tents, expensive cutlery, multi-cuisine food and pyrotechnics (fireworks) dealers. I-T sleuths visited the business and residential premises of these traders/operators and took stock of their inventory, he said.
“They will question Reddy and his family on the actual expenditure on the wedding and the source of money. The scrutiny of accounts and contract books will take time,” he added.
Another I-T official said, “We have seized a few documents, ledgers and receipts given by the firms to the family apart from some cash in both old and new denominations. The raids and surveys will continue overnight and might conclude on Tuesday.” “We found that a few contractors were tax evaders,” he added.
