₹12cr unaccounted cash, jewellery seized in IT raids in Amritsar

CHANDIGARH: In simultaneous raids at 30-odd premises of four business groups based in Amritsar, and at other places in the city over two days, sleuths of the income tax department have recovered ₹12 crore in unaccounted cash and jewellery.

An official said documents recovered from 15 lockers had given the department evidence that the businesses were making cash investments in real estate, using black money.

“The documents pertain to ‘outside the books’ transactions with records of cash changing hands for benami properties,” the official said, adding financial irregularities to the tune of crores of rupees have been detected.

The groups raided were Gopi Krishna Group of Naresh Aggarwal which is into textile processing; Khurana Group of Narinder Khurana and Amit Khurana that deals in coal; Chopra Group of Nitin Chopra and Miku Chopra and Veer Colonisers Group of Subhash Sharma.

‘ILLEGALITIES FOUND’

An official with the I-T added that the surprise checks had uncovered a number of illegalities including huge benami properties, unaccounted manufacturing and sale, suppression of profit, unaccounted cash purchases and sales and unaccounted investment in real estate.

Black money was also generated and groups also indulged in illegal coal mining. The official added that Veer Colonisers had invested crores into a Special Economic Zone.

“Real estate agents, Nitin Chopra and Miku Chopra of the Chopra Group, have allegedly been indulging in false IT returns, executing shady deals with huge unaccounted properties and dealing in just cash transactions,” the official went on to add.