I-T sleuths mount massive search ops at two dozen places in State
   Date :08-Sep-2022

I-T sleuths 
 
 
 
The Hitavada
State Bureau
Raipur/Bilaspur/Raigarh, 
 
Of late, Chhattisgarh has turned out to be most favourite destination for financial task force agencies, particularly Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate (ED).
This was once proved again, when multiple teams of sleuths from Income Tax Department’s Investigation Wing on Wednesday early morning mounted a massive and well-coordinated search operation on nearly two dozen premises fanned across Raipur, Bilaspur and Raigarh districts of Chhattisgarh. The taxmen, however, restrained themselves from commenting anything about the ongoing search ops citing it ‘politically sensitive.’
The first day of the search ops found unaccounted cash to the tune of over Rs 2 crore apart from gold valuables worth nearly Rs 1 crore.
Principal Director, Investigation (Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh) Abhay Singh is directly overseeing the proceedings of the operations, which are spread across the Chhattisgarh and each situated far from the other. Additional Director (Investigation-II) Rituparn Namdev is coordinating with the tax enforcers conducting the search operations, which has covered two major groups, primarily involved in private civil construction work, real estate and steel metal casting.
The tax watchdogs also enveloped their allied business associates, partners and directors, including one close family member of a Bilaspur-based liquor trader. Among few others covered include transport businessman and a chartered accountant. “All of them are collectively involved in massive intentional tax theft and hence the necessity of conducting the search operation,” knowledgeable sources told The Hitavada requesting anonymity. “Small unit of armed troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been attached with every team under the apprehension that the tax sleuths could face resistance and efforts may also be made by vested ‘political parties or individuals’ to hamper the searches. However, thankfully, there had been no such developments,” the sources said. According to the sources, the SKA Group, owned by three directors Anil Agrawal, Sunil Kumar Agrawal and Sushil Kumar Agrawal, was mainly zeroed in on by the tax investigators since it owns nearly a dozen associated companies in Raipur, Bilaspur and Raigarh district. The group is primarily involved in building of complete constructions or parts thereof; civil engineering apart from casting of metals, including finished and semifinished products for construction purpose. The companies owned and run by the SKA group includes RDA Developers LLP, Hill-Brow Metallics & Construction Private Limited, Avon Tie-Up Private Limited, SKA Ispat Private Limited, SKA Metal Private Limited, Sunil Kumar Agrawal LLP, RoldGold Developers Private Limited, RDA Projects Private Limited, Om Pariyojana Nirmal Private Limited and Amanat Distributors Private Limited. “SKA group in the past few years have bagged major civil contracts from the state, including a few mega projects now underway in Nava Raipur, worth crores. The group also owns SKA Steel and Power Limited, situated at Birgaon area of Urla Industrial Estate,” the sources added. Sources pointed out that the civil construction work of SKA group is mostly carried out from the office of RDA Projects Private Limited, situated at Zora Village in Labhandi area, where searches were underway, apart from enveloping the other office and residential premises of group Directors, their family members at La Vista-53, Amlidih and Aishwarya Kingdom in Raipur, in addition to office premises of their associated companies and partners near Chandani Chowk area and Kharsia Tehsil of Raigarh district respectively. “All these premises were swarming with taxmen, who have seized heaps of incriminating financial papers pertaining with sales and stock inventory, apart from cloning the various desktops, laptops, pen drives, electronic organizers and mobile phones found at multiple locations of SKA group,” they maintained. In Raipur particularly, according to the sources, the tax sleuths also searched the office and secondary residence of a Bilaspurbased major liquor trader, Amolak Singh Bhatia, situated near Netaji Hotel in Katora Talab area. Bhatia was also previously covered by tax enforcers during a massive swoop conducted two years ago. “This time, Bhatia came under the I-T scanner since RoldGold Developers Private Limited, one of the associated companies of SKA group, has Gurusharn Singh Bhatia alias Raja Bhatia as one of the three directors along with Sunil Kumar Agrawal and Poonam Chand Agrawal. Gurusharn Singh Bhatia happens to be the nephew of Amolak Singh Bhatia. RoldGold Developers Private Limited is also involved in building of complete constructions or parts thereof; civil engineering while it has three associated companies namely Vande Bharat Infra Projects Private Limited, Harpritam Industries Private Limited and Golden Prince Wines India Private Limited. “While Vande Bharat Infra Projects Private Limited is involved in building installations at the site of constructions, the Harpritam Industries Private Limited and Golden Prince Wines India Private Limited are purely involved in manufacturing of beverages. Financial antecedents of various other associated companies of RoldGold Developers Private Limited like Himalaya Infraestate Private Limited, also involved in Real estate activities with own or leased property, were also being investigated by tax enforcers. Most of these companies have close family members of Raja Bhatia as Directors,” the sources revealed. Apropos, office and residential premises of another major civil contractor Subhas Agrawal, two more influential individuals of Raigarh district, including a major private contractor Mukesh Agrawal and Natwar Rateriya, were also being searched. In addition, a transporter Akash Jindal and a Raipur-based chartered accountant named Anil Agrawal have also been brought under the range of the search ops. As many as 60 tax officials roped in from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were taking part in the concurrent search operations, which commenced since early Wednesday morning and likely to continue for another couple of days.