In the latest development, which left the income tax officers surprised, three crocodiles were found in a pond at the residence of former BJP MLA Harvansh Singh Rathore in Madhya Pradesh. Apart from finding the reptile in the house of former legislator, the tax officials also found gold, crores of cash, and benami imported cars while conducting the search.
The Income Tax department has been raiding the houses of Rathore and former councillor Rajesh Kesharwani in Sagar since January 5 on allegations of evasion of crores in tax, as reported by NDTV. Following complaints regarding irregularities in transactions related to the Bidi business, the tax sleuths conducted a raid at the properties of the MLA. Rajesh Kesharwani and Harvansh Singh Rathore are the partners in the beedi business.
As per the details shared by the officials, Kesharwani, who also runs a construction business, alone evaded tax worth of Rs 140 crore. The officials have also found related documents during the raid.
What left the income tax officials amused was when they found three crocodiles in a small pond of Rathore's premises. Later, forest department officials were called.
Talking to Free Press Journal, district forest officer of North Sagar, Chandrashekhar, said that the search operation is underway to locate the crocodiles that were being tamed illegally. However, due to the depth of the pond, the crocodiles have not yet been found. The forest officer added that that after the search operation, the crocodiles will be released into the Nauradehi Sanctuary.
During the search, several benami imported cars were found at the properties of Kesharwani's family. Many cars were found to be not registered under the name of Kesharwani's family, as per the officials. The income tax department has sought information regarding the cars from the Transport department.
Rathore is a prominent bussinessman in the Sagar district. He was elected as an MLA in 2013 assembly polls. He was also a strong contender for the post of district chief.