It Raids On Radisson Hotel Promoter

The Income Tax department yesterday carried out simultaneous raids at the office of Radisson Hotels, Batra Hospital and the residence of their promoter A L Batra in the capital. Simultaneous raids were also carried out in Punjab, Baroda, Jammu & Kashmir and Bangalore.

Full details of what was seized from the Radisson Hotels office and Batras residence could not be ascertained. However, sources confirmed that nearly a dozen bank lockers had been sealed and jewellery worth an estimated Rs 30 lakh found at Batras south Delhi residence.

Several attempts to contact Radisson Hotels and Batras residence failed. While Batras residential phones were off the hook, messages left at Radisson Hotels and Batra Hospital failed to elicit any response till late last evening.

 

Although the group and its promoter owned several properties in the capital, the assessment was still on in Jammu & Kashmir. In the wake of militancy in the state, assessment worth only its name was being done by the IT department, said a source.

Batra is described as one of the more influential businessmen in the capital and is supposed to be close to two former Prime Ministers besides two generations of the Gandhi family.

A source said Batra owned a number of petrol pumps and gas agencies in Punjab and Jammu besides the capital. At least one of these pumps is believed to have been allotted during the tenure of former petroleum minister Satish Sharma. The group had also recently entered into collaboration with an overseas company to diversify into the manufacture of potable liquor and beer at a unit in Madhya Pradesh.

The source further said Batra was recently given the dealership for Cielo cars in Delhi, Srinagar and other places. The first car that rolled out from the Srinagar showroom was presented to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, said a source who was in the state recently.

Last year, the group was also granted permission to set up a medical college in the state.