"The raided premises belong to industrialist Shekhar Reddy, his associate Srinivasa Reddy and their agents, including a person called Prem Kumar. We also raided three jewellery shops," said an I-T official. Shekhar Reddy is a member of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Board. Close to 60 officials were pressed into service for the raids, for which preparations had started on Monday .
Of the total seizure, Rs 95 crore was in old demonetised currencies and Rs 10 crore mostly in the newly introduced Rs 2,000 denomination currency.
The teams also seized 125kg gold bars (each weighing 1kg) worth Rs 35 crore, said the official. The sleuths got a tip about Prem Kumar exchanging demonetised currencies for gold bars, and following his trail they stumbled upon the Reddy associates.They seized Rs 6 crore in 2,000 denomination notes from the house of Shekhar Reddy at T Nagar.
Based on information provided by him, they raided two rooms in a prominent star hotel at Teynampet and seized 70kg gold bars. The rooms have been sealed. The Reddys had booked the room in the name of one of their agents. Following the leads generated during the raids, the I-T officials conducted searches at three jewellery shops on NSC Bose Road at Broadway.
"While the Reddys claimed they had bought gold bars from jewellery shops, we are investigating how they managed to get Rs 10 crore in 2,000 denomination notes when there is a restriction on cash withdrawal from bank accounts and people are standing in queues for hours to withdraw money from banks and ATMs," said the official. Apparently, some bank officials are also involved in the racket, said sources.
"The gang used to exchange demonetised currencies for gold and then convert it into new currencies. They had exchanged a lot of money in this manner since November 8 and we are tracking all those who are involved in the racket," the official said.
Shekhar Reddy is well connected to many bigwigs and was involved in river sand quarrying.
Source:Times Of India
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