Ponty Chadha raids: Official who led probe against liquor baron transferred

New Delhi: Central Bureau of Direct Tax official SS Rana, who steered raids on the premises of Uttar Pradesh liquor and real estate baron Ponty Chadha earlier this month has been transferred. Sources say Mr Rana has been transferred because of mishandling of the raids, however, the transfer is being passed off as a routine administrative measure.

Yesterday, the CBDT, which is the administrative authority of the I-T department, denied reports that Mr Chadha, who has business interests in real estate and liquor in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Punjab, was tipped off about the searches.

"It has been reported in some sections of the media that there has been a leak in a search case conducted recently by the Income Tax department on a 'liquor baron'. It is also being reported in the media that CBDT has instituted an inquiry into the matter. As the matter is still under investigation, these media reports are without any factual basis and speculative," the statement said.

The Income Tax department had on February 3 sealed ten bank lockers of Mr Chadha and claimed they seized cash and jewellery worth Rs 15 crore during searches carried out at his premises in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

The I-T officials also seized two laptops that were sent for forensic examination at a department owned laboratory in the national capital.

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The tax department is scrutinising transaction bills claimed to be worth Rs 600 crore. They are examining over 5,000 pages of computer printed documents, papers of mining leases in U P and other investments made by Mr Chadha, the sources said.

The tax department had begun the raids on Mr Chadha and his associates on February 1, covering 13 locations in Delhi including at the posh Sainik Farms, Lajpat Nagar, New Friends Colony while in Uttar Pradesh, I-T teams comprising 200 officials, undertook similar operations at six locations in Noida, Moradabad and state capital Lucknow.

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(With PTI Inputs)