Bengaluru: IT dept grills film producers Jayanna, C R Manohar, Rockline Venkatesh

Bengaluru: The income tax raids on the premises of some of the top Sandalwood actors and producers entered the third day on Saturday and were likely to conclude at midnight. Film producers C.R. Manohar and Jayanna were still being grilled on Saturday evening for alleged suppression of taxable income and undisclosed assets, said a well-placed source.

Manohar, besides being a big-ticket producer, is also a JD(S) MLC. Jayanna is a film distributor and producer and has produced films with the top actors in the Kannada film industry.

The tax men had raided top Kannada actors Sudeep, Yash, Shivarajkumar and Puneet Rajkumar and film producers Vijay Kiragandhur (of the blockbuster film ‘K.G.F.’), Manohar (of ‘Villian’ fame), Rockline Venkatesh and Jayanna on Thursday morning at 27 locations linked to the actors and producers in the city.

Though there has been no official word from the Directorate of Income Tax (Investigation), Karnataka & Goa, which conducted the raids on the nature and amount of seizures, it is reliably learnt that the I-T officials have seized a lot of incriminating property documents, cash, jewellery and gold. The assessment of the seizures will begin once the raids are concluded. The directorate will take the help of a government-approved assessor of gems and jewellery.

The raids were planned days ahead after extensive groundwork.