Income-Tax raids Telugu Desam men, firms

Vijayawada: Raids by Income-Tax (I-T) sleuths on Telugu Desam leaders and some private companies across the state on Friday created a political flutter. 

Income-Tax officials conducted joint raids on the granite and seafood units belonging to Kandukur TD legislator Pothula Rama Rao in Praksam district.

It is learnt that around 200 officials divided into 19 teams with the help of Andhra Pradesh police had conducted raids at 28 different places in Hyderabad, Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur and Vijayawada.

Though there were initial reports that the offices of the Narayana educational institutions, owned by municipal administration minister P. Narayana were also raided, the minister later denied this and I-T officials too said no raids were conducted on Narayana institutions. 

The raids have come at a time when the TD and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu have been complaining that they are being targeted by the BJP government at the Centre because the TD walked out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and also for questioning the actions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  

Pothula Rama Rao was elected to the Assembly on a YSR Congress ticket, but switched over to the TD later. According to sources in the TD, I-T officials scanned the files and computer data at Southern Infra Aqua Processing Unit belonging to the legislator, at Bitragunta village in Jarugumalli mandal of Prakasam district.

I-T teams also inspected the records of Southern Granite Polishing at Cheruvukommupalem near Ongole and a granite factory in an industrial estate in Ongole.

Raids on the offices and factories of BMR Hatcheries and Feed, belonging to former TD legislator Beeda Masthan Rao in Nellore district continued on Friday. I-T officers did not allow anyone inside and refused to speak to the media.

In Vijayawada, I-T raids were conducted at the offices of the Hyderabad headquartered real estate company Southern Developers.