Income tax officials carried out raids at scores of places across Jammu and Kashmir after “inputs of large scale tax evasions”.
The raids were carried out by the sleuths of the ITChandigarh Circle who were accompanied by officials of the IT InvestigationWing of J&K.
A senior IT department official said the raids have beenconducted at over 20 places until Thursday evening.
In Jammu, top business establishments including hotelowners, private offices and residential premises of people of some prominentbusiness houses were raided.
Sniffer dogs and hi-tech electronic equipment were also usedby the IT officials during these raids.
Sources said records, unaccounted cash and other evidencesupporting undisclosed wealth had been seized, but there was, however, no official word about the seizures made duringthese raids.
A senior IT department official of the Chandigarh Circlesaid that ahead of the end of the financial year, IT department carries out theraids across the country to detect tax evasions.
“Though the team is assessing the data and account detailscollected from the places raided, at this moment we cannot give you exact factsas it would hinder the investigation,” he said.
Asked whether the raids would continue, he said that it isan ongoing process and wherever fraud or evasion is detected, IT teams willcarry out such operations.
He said the exact details of the raids will be released in apress statement by the office of the principal commissioner of IT departmentChandigarh Circle.
“Raiding some premises doesn’t mean that a person is guiltyunless proven so. So in such cases after proper investigation IT departmentcomes up with the facts and figures of tax evasions, frauds, if any.”
On February 27, the IT department conducted raids at fourlocations in Jammu and Kashmir and three locations in New Delhi to “crack downon illegal funding of separatists in the Valley”.