I-T searches: BJYM workers stage protest in Indore

Activists of the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Sunday staged a protest near Rajwada Palace here in Madhya Pradesh on a day when the Income Tax department conducted searches at the house of Praveen Kakkad, the former OSD to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath.

During the protest, two workers of the BJYM sported masks of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Nath while others showered currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2000 denominations on them, and raised slogans against the Congress, police said.

Sarafa police station in-charge Dinesh Bhanwar said 11 workers of the BJYM have been booked under section 188 (disobedience to the order of government officer) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for holding a protest without permission and for violating the model code of conduct.

Meanwhile, Indore Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ruchi Vardhan Mishra reached Kakkad's house where the Income Tax officials were conducting searches under the vigil of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel.

Eye witnesses said, Mishra enquired with the CRPF personnel about any protest by workers of any political party in Vijay Nagar area.

When contacted, Mishra told PTI, "Since workers of a political party staged a protest without permission in Rajwada area after Income Tax raids, I took stock in Vijay Nagar area as a precautionary measure".

About 20 armed personnel of the Madhya Pradesh police led by the city SSP were seen outside Kakkad's house.

Vijay Nagar area CSP Pankaj Dikshit said the personnel were deployed in the area as a routine process to maintain law and order.

Dikshit said the situation is peaceful.

The Income Tax Department Sunday launched pre-dawn searches on at least 50 locations in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh (Indore and Bhopal) against people linked to Nath on charges of alleged tax evasion, officials said.

The department had roped in the armed personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to keep a vigil during the searches.

Kakkad, a former Madhya Pradesh police officer, was appointed OSD to Nath after the Congress-led government came to power in the state last year.

His family is associated with a number of businesses, including hospitality.

Besides Kakkad, those whose locations were being searched included Nath's former adviser Rajendra Miglani and executives linked to his brother-in-law's firm Moser Baer and his nephew Ratul Puri's company, the officials said.