`500cr wedding fuels I-T heat
10 sites tied to K’taka mining baron searched
The directorate of income tax (investigation), which had launched an inter-state investigation into the multi-crore wedding of the daughter of former BJP minister Gali Janardhan Reddy last week at the Palace Grounds, on Monday carried out survey operations on at least 10 locations in Karnataka and Hyderabad to detect tax evasion in the big-ticket wedding, which “brazenly exhibited opulence,” said an officer on the condition of anonymity.
“The I-T sleuths conducted the survey at seven locations in Bengaluru and Ballari and three in Hyderabad and questioned the contractors, the high-end event management firms, catering and multimedia service providers, who were hired for the ultra-lavish wedding. The tax officers are collecting the vouchers and receipts of payments and documentary evidence, including videos of the wedding, the functions and preparations of the wedding. They are checking the account books, payment receipts and contract portfolios of the firms, which created the special effects, including the Swiss tents, expensive cutlery, multi-cuisine food and pyrotechnics (fireworks) dealers. I-T sleuths visited the business and residential premises of these traders/operators and took stock of their inventory,” the officer added.
“They will also question Reddy and his family on the expenditure on the wedding and the source of money. The scrutiny of accounts and contract books will take time. If they find the use of unaccounted money, they will issue notices to explain tax evasion,” he added.