NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: The Income Tax (IT) Department has unearthed a cash for medical seat racket involving a prominent Karnataka business group and has detected undisclosed income of Rs 100 crore.
Evidences of undisclosed investments in real estate have also been found.
R L Jalappa[/caption]
In search operations on the business house, the tax department has found link of hawala transactions. It has seized unaccounted cash of Rs 4.22 crore including Rs 89 lakh in the house of main trustee.
The authorities have got evidence of multiple agents involved in the racket for selling MBBS and PG seats violating the rules.
“Incriminating evidence has been found in the search, substantiating conversion of seats, commission payments to brokers and sale of seats in exchange of receipt of cash,” a tax department statement said.
The tax department has found that cash deposits were made in the accounts of certain employees and their families and then diverted for servicing loans taken by the trustees.
“Evidence has further brought to light the fact that trustees have opened bank accounts in the names of their employees to deposit some of the capitation fees received in cash,” the press release said.
Meanwhile, Rs 4-5 crore in cash was “seized” during raids by over 100 IT Department sleuths on the premises of Karnataka Congress leaders G Parameshwara and R L Jalappa in Bengaluru and other places in the state, an informed source said here on Friday.
“Search and seize operations in 25-30 premises of Parameswhara and Jalappa are continuing since these began early on Thursday, for alleged tax evasion and non-disclosure of disproportionate assets from the educational institutions they run with relatives and friends,” the source said requesting anonymity.
About Rs 70 lakh in cash alone was reportedly found and seized from Parameshwara’s residence in the city’s upscale northwest suburb of Sadashivnagar.
Parameshwara, 68, was the Deputy Chief Minister in the 14-month-old JDS-Congress coalition government and former president of the party’s state unit for over six years.
An IT official, however, declined to confirm the seizure of cash and documents as the search operation was continuing and a statement will be issued after the exercise by the director-general of the investigation wing.
“Till the exercise is completed and seizures are valued, we cannot disclose them, as they will hamper the investigations. We may issue a statement after the operation is completed” the IT official said.
Parameshwara and Jalappa, 93, together with their family and relatives, head a chain of higher education institutions, including medical, dental and engineering colleges in the state’s southeast region.
“A team of sleuths has also questioned Parameshwara on the documents seized during the search and on the basis of the affidavits he filed in his tax returns and to the Election Commission for contesting in the 2018 assembly elections,” the source pointed out.
Siddhartha group of institutions, run by Parameshwara and his family, have huge campuses and colleges at Nelamangala and Tumakuru, located in a radius of 40-70 km northwest of Bengaluru.
Similarly, Jalappa’s group of educational institutions, including the Devaraj Urs Engineering and Medical colleges at Chikkabalapur and Kolar, both situated between 70-100 km east of Bengaluru.
“Raids are also underway in the residences of Jalappa’s relative G H Nagaraj at Kolar, as he looks after the hefty donations collected by the group’s medical and engineering colleges for admission from private students and non-resident Indians (NRIs), the source added.
According to department
sources, the raids were in connection with the alleged irregularities in the accounts of the educational institutions, including the medical and engineering colleges run by the trusts headed Parameshwara and Jalappa. — IANS
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