After daughter's 500-cr wedding, I-T dept raids former BJP Minister Janardhan Reddy's offices

Bengaluru: Days after daughter's big fat wedding, Income Tax department on Monday raided mining baron Janardhan Reddy's Obalapuram Mining company office in Karnataka’s Bellary . A team of five officials raided he former BJP minister’s AMC and OMC offices in Bellary. I-T department also conducts surveys in Bangalore and Hyderabad on service providers engaged for wedding of Reddy's daughter. The I-T department conducted surveys on at least ten locations of high-end event management firms, catering and multi-media service providers who were engaged for the extravagant wedding. Officials said that taxmen visited seven locations here and three in Hyderabad of those event management companies which were given contracts to give a blockbuster look for the wedding of Bramhani last week here. Reddy is also a mining baron. They said the department, after receiving reports of high spending for the event, initiated the action and is checking the account books, payment receipts and contract portfolios of these firms who specialise in creating special ambience and customised display for high-end spending clientele during their special events like weddings. The firms include those providing special swiss tents, expensive cutlery, multi-cuisine food and pyrotechnic dealers who brought a lavish style to the event. Under the survey action, tax sleuths visit business premises of the trader/operator and make analysis of the available stock and record it whereas under search operations both residential and business premises are visited by the taxman and seizure of cash and incriminating documents, if any, is effected. Once the scrutiny of accounts and contract books is done, they said, further action of issuing notices to investigate tax evasion by both the contractor and the contractee will be undertaken. The blockbuster wedding of his daughter last week raised a firestorm of controversy. The five-day extravaganza with ceremonies held against the backdrop of lavish settings stirred a huge row over its timing when people across the country are reeling under cash crunch after demonetisation of high value currencies. A week ago, anti-corruption activist S.R. Hiremath, who had filed several cases against politicians including Janardhan, said he had written to the Prime Minister, seeking his intervention in finding out the source of the money being spent for the wedding. "The way the wedding is being organised, the bill will run into several crores. Let the government dig deep and find out the source of the wealth of a man who has already been jailed for theft of iron ore," Hiremath said. "I have requested the Prime Minister and the Karnataka government to initiate action through the directorate of revenue intelligence, the income tax department and other authorities to get to the bottom of this ugly display of wealth," he added. Perhaps anticipating trouble from anti-corruption crusaders like Hiremath, the Reddy family had woven a tight security net around the wedding venue. To ensure that no uninvited guests, including the media, play party pooper, the suit-clad private security guards had stopped anyone whipping out a camera. BSR Congress leader Janardhan's own Kannada TV channel, Janasri, was the only media organisation allowed access to the venue and permission to film the wedding. (With additional information from PTI and The Telegraph, Calcutta.)