Bengaluru: The Income Tax Department, Karnataka & Goa on Wednesday arrested a prominent JD(S) leader and realtor S. Prabhakar Reddy of M/s Sai Realtor group for default in tax payment to the tune of Rs 5.30 crore. Reddy had contested the Assembly elections and Lok Sabha elections in 2014.
According to sources, the I-T Department on credible information had conducted search and seizure operations at his residential snd official premises and questioned Reddy, during which he reportedly admitted that he has not been paying taxes on the income he had voluntarily admitted to have earned.
The Department had on several occasions issued notices to him but he had failed to appear before the Income Tax authorities.
It is reliably learnt that Reddy is reportedly well connected with a leading Congress Cabinet minister and his brother, who is a Congress MP. "Reddy has a lot of criminal cases against him. He is known to form illegal layouts and sell them to gullible people with fake documents and illegal approvals.
A final show cause notice was issued to him directing him to discharge the tax dues The demand as on date from the defaulter is off Rs 5.30 crore including interest. He was asked to pay the dues but he failed to do so. Hence an arrest warrant was served through police authorities and the tax defaulter was arrested and prodiuced before the Tax Recovery Officer," said the I-T Department spokesperson.
Reddy has been remanded in judicial custody at the Bengaluru Central Prison at Parapanna Agrahara.
Earlier, in February the I-T Department had arrested two people from the State for tax default. A businessman from Tumakuru, who had defaulted Rs 7.35 crore of tax was arrested on February 16.
Interestingly, on February 12 the Department had arrested a defaulter by intercepting him at the Chatrapathi Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai for tax default of Rs 11.94 crore.
