Tax men raid TN highway contractor, cash, gold seized

Income Tax sleuths today searched over 20 premises of a firm engaged in highway construction and its associate companies in Tamil Nadu and seized 'huge' cash and gold, IT sources said.

Though the sources did not quantify the worth of the seizures, unconfirmed reports put it at around Rs 100 crore.

The searches were taken up over suspected tax evasion after inputs about unusual cash movement were received and the the seized cash and gold were being assessed for their value, Tax Investigation department sources told PTI.

Tax raids, held with state police security, were launched following "continuous monitoring of suspicious activities both before and after the period covering demonetisation," the sources added.

Also, the scrutiny of tax returns of the firm also revealed disparities during verification process.

In the past, such searches by tax authorities were largely held with the protection of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

The firm is a leading civil work contractor, with suspected links to "politically influential quarters" and had executed projects for state government departments, including the highways and Public Works, sources said.

Searches began this morning in cities including Chennai, Madurai, Aruppukottai and Vellore at 22 premises and were extended to four more places later.