Income Tax department raids infrastructure firm in Telangana, AP

Hyderabad: Income Tax department officials on Thursday conducted simultaneous raids at three locations in Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh to gather evidence against the directors of city-based infrastructure company GVPR Engineering Ltd. They found that the company had allegedly created benami sub-contracts in the names of the domestic helps, drivers and watchmen of the company’s directors.

An official source said three teams had conducted simultaneous raids in Hyderabad and at two locations in AP.

“The raids may continue on Friday and Saturday. So far our teams have been conducting searches for information about the company's directors, including G. Lakshmaiah and K. Venkat Ramana Rao,” the source said.

The source said another team would be deputed to investigate the role of the sub-contractors.

Raids not related to deposits made during demonetisation
“GVPR Engineering Ltd has contracts for government and private projects in the areas of irrigation, roads and buildings, power and infrastructure. It has projects in Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka. We are looking into the bank accounts and ledgers of the company. Their bank lockers are yet to be opened. The company recently purchased a property in Jubilee Hills which has an estimated value of Rs 20 crore,” the source an I-T source said.

Another source said that the raids were unrelated to the company’s activities and deposits made at the time of demonetisation.  “Based on credible information, we have been examining the activities of the company for the past two months. We have conducted raids based on the inputs and evidence that we have gathered. Our assessment teams are estimating the total value of the movable and immovable properties owned by the companies, as well as undisclosed amounts. It will take at least three days for this activity to be completed,” the source said. The head office of GVPR Engineering Ltd. is located in Jubilee Hills. 

I-T cracks down on moneylenders
The Income-Tax (I-T) department on Thursday cracked down on 50 illegal moneylenders in Bheemavaram by conducting simultaneous raids. Official sources said that the department was monitoring the activities of the moneylenders since demonetisation and had decided to conduct the raids after gathering evidence. “Special teams were formed to conduct the raids. During the searches at the moneylenders’ houses and places of business, we found that a majority of the moneylenders had other businesses in the areas of aqua farming and real estate,” a source said.

The source said that the moneylenders had lent crores of rupees to people and demanded high rates of interest from them. “We recommend that the ED book cases against the 50 moneylenders. We recommended that the local police look into loan-recovery gangs,” the source said.