I-T Dept Raids Close Aides of Chhattisgarh Govt Including Raipur Mayor; Business Groups in MP Targeted

Bhopal/Raipur: Income Tax sleuths raided over a dozen establishments of five influential personalities including Raipur mayor Ejaz Dhebar in Chhattisgarh on Thursday.

The raids also were carried out in Madhya Pradesh at Betul, Bhopal, Hoshangabad, Betul and other places. Several establishments of Ramdev Sugar Mills, Maheshwari Brothers of Hoshangabad and others were raided in the action.

Those targeted in the massive I-T action in Chhattisgarh include Raipur mayor Ejaz Dhebar, IAS officer Anil Tuteja, former bureaucrat Vivek Dhand, liquor trader Pappu Bhatia, ex-MLA Gurucharan Singh Hora among others.

IAS officer Anil Tuteja is close to the Bhupesh Baghel government and it was on his complaint that the Congress government had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the Nagrik Apurti Nigam scam, commonly referred to as NAN scam. He is also an accused in the scam and has pleaded for his innocence on several accounts.

Dr A Farishta’s nursing home has also been included in the action.

Leading businessman Gurucharan Singh Hora is a former MLA from Dhamtari who was raided by the I-T Department.

The I-T sleuths also raided former chief secretary Vivek Dhand, who is considered close to the Bhupesh Baghel government. The former chief secretary is considered an advisor to the Congress government and is also chairman of Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).

During the course of the raid, the investigators from Delhi had asked local staffers and security personnel to leave the premises.

Sources claimed that a road construction contractor and a Chartered Accountant, accused of helping companies with dubious black money transactions, have also been included in the action.

A team of 300 officers from New Delhi were engaged in the raids. Officers of the MP and CG circles were kept away from the action.

There was no official word on the action till reports last came in.

However, many believe that five of the closest persons of the Bhupesh government being raided by the IT sleuths is sure to have its effect on the politics of the tribal-dominated state.