IN ONE of the largest tax enforcement drives conducted in Chhattisgarh in recent years, income tax investigators launched a coordinated predawn search and seizure operation across Raipur on Thursday, targeting the extensive industrial, residential and financial footprint of the Hindustan Coil Group and its associated sponge iron and coil businesses. The action spanned major industrial belts and premium residential zones, triggering a day-long mobilisation of resources rarely seen in the state’s tax enforcement history.

 

Informed senior officials in the Income Tax Investigation Wing, speaking to The Hitavada on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the operation centred on the business interests of group owners Arvind Agrawal, Vikas Agrawal and Vipin Agrawal, along with linked entities including Om Sponge, Devi Sponge and several allied ventures. Teams arrived simultaneously at more than 42 locations covering factories, corporate offices and upscale residences.

 

Sources stated that the overall operation was supervised at the apex level by K Ravi Kiran, Principal Director of Income Tax (PDIT), Investigation Wing, Chhattisgarh, a 1996-batch IRS officer. The field-level command was held by Joint Director Income Tax (JDIT) Bharat Shegaonkar, IRS (2013 batch), while Naval Jain, IRS (2020 batch), served as the conducting Deputy Director of Income Tax (DDIT) leading the coordinated deployment of investigation teams across the capital.

 

By early morning, tax officers had secured 10 major industrial facilities in the Siltara Industrial Estate, Urla Industrial Area and Tilda region. Residential and corporate premises spread across high-value locations were also covered. The breadth of the operation required reinforcement from about 150 CRPF personnel, who maintained strict perimeter security and ensured uninterrupted access for the search teams. Nearly 40 tax officers were mobilised from Raipur, Bhilai, Durg and Jagdalpur, supported by investigation staff from Indore, Bhopal and Jabalpur.

 

According to officials, the multi-state composition reflected the expected complexity of financial trails tied to the group’s operations. Two cyber forensic teams from Mumbai and Kolkata were deployed to clone large volumes of digital material. Devices examined included laptops, desktops, servers, mobile phones and multiple storage units seized across business and residential premises.

 

Officials described the scale of digital content as extensive, requiring continuous extraction and preservation for subsequent forensic and financial analysis. According to sources, the opening day of the operation revealed several lockers in nationalised and private banks linked to the Hindustan Coil Group and its associates. Only a few could be opened on Thursday, yielding investment papers, asset schedules and documents pointing to significant immovable property holdings. Certified valuers associated with the department have been tasked with estimating investment values and cross-verifying disclosures.

 

Unaccounted cash, gold and other valuables were also found at certain locations, with quantification underway in line with procedures outlined in the Income Tax Act. Officials said assessment of movable and immovable assets would form a critical part of the post-search scrutiny phase. The business group had been under financial surveillance for several months after the Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIU-IND) flagged transaction patterns considered inconsistent with disclosed income streams.

 

These alerts formed the basis of structured internal analysis that preceded Thursday’s coordinated action. With the breadth of information gathered, officials indicated that the search and seizure operation is likely to continue for at least the next 48 hours as teams document, secure and analyse the widening evidentiary trail.