The Income Tax (I-T) department and GST officials conducted raids at financer-turned-movie producer Abhishek Agarwal’s Film Nagar office in Hyderabad and examined tax receipts.
Agarwal, who owns Abhishek Agarwal Productions, has produced three hit films: The Kashmir Files, The Vaccine War, and Karthikeya 2.
He is currently producing Tiger Nageswara Rao, a film starring Ravi Teja and others. The film will be released on October 20th.
The raids occur just as the film producer prepares to meet with media representatives to promote his next picture.
The Bollywood release of Agarwal’s film Tiger Nageswara Rao, as well as the money he is pouring into its marketing, is alleged to have piqued the interest of central agencies.
During the raids, which lasted until Tuesday evening, the I-T sleuths reviewed bank paperwork and other transactions carried out by the film producer.
The raids are also seen as a great surprise because Agarwal is close to the ruling BJP party and his films, such as The Kashmir Files, have supported the saffron party’s goal.
However, some argue that Agarwal has nothing to worry about because he is known for keeping accurate records.
Meanwhile, Agarwal’s other upcoming projects include the films G2 and The Delhi Files.
The search on Agarwal comes just a few days after I-T investigators raided the offices of private chit fund businesses and seized critical papers.
The sleuths raided the homes and offices of industrialists, chit fund companies, and an e-commerce company in the state a few days ago in connection with various financial transactions and tax payment difficulties.
To conduct out operations, the I-T department organized separate squads and dispersed over the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Searches lasted three days and involved as many as 100 teams. Important financial transaction and bank records, as well as laptops and computers, were seized.
At a time when politicians in Telangana are busy preparing for the Assembly elections, the I-T searches have left them seething and have prompted them to be more cautious when conducting cash transactions.
On October 5, I-T inspectors raided 14 premises associated with chit funds and private agencies, which were apparently related to family and acquaintances of Jubilee Hills BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath. The goal of these raids was to look into suspected tax evasion and inconsistencies in their income tax returns.
Ameerpet, Yellareddyguda, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, KPHB, and Shamshabad were among the areas where 40 teams were despatched.
When anomalies were detected, I-T teams were reportedly called in from Bengaluru and Odisha, and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) soldiers were deployed to maintain security during the raid operations.
In Ameerpet, I-T inspectors raided Pooja Krishna Chit Fund India Private Limited’s office as well as the homes of its directors Somepalli Naga Rajeswari, Krishna Prasad Doppalapudi, and Pooja Lakshmi Doppalapudi.
According to allegations, the corporation may have participated in cash transactions in order to potentially escape taxes.
Meanwhile, another team raided the Ameerpet office of Jeevan Shakti Chit Fund Private Ltd (JSCFPL) and the homes of the company’s directors, Gutta Venkateswara Rao and Katragadda Ramesh. Katragadda Ramesh is well-known for his involvement in a variety of commercial ventures in the city.
The chit fund businesses and a third entity called Hasini Distributors Private Limited were all registered at the same address in Yellareddyguda.
The I-T department raided the properties of Indu Aranya and Fortune at Kukatpally Housing Board Colony (KPHB). During the operation, they examined papers and individual transactions related to Arikepudi Koteswara Rao.
The I-T sleuths also investigated a beautiful property owned by Raghuram, who is involved in different chit funds and financial organizations.
I-T raids at the office of producer Abhishek Agarwal, who funded films such as ‘The Kashmir Files’ and ‘The Vaccine War.’
