KOLKATA: The Income Tax department, on Friday, seized Rs 75 lakh of unaccounted cash from the office of a local businessman in the Chetla area in South Kolkata.
Although Income Tax officials have not disclosed the identity of the businessman, sources said he is the owner of a leading 'sattu (gram powder)' manufacturing entity in the city.
Sources further said that in face of interrogation the businessman could not give any satisfactory answer either about the source of the unaccounted cash or the purpose for which it was kept at his residence ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. Neither could he furnish any relevant document on this count.
As per norms, the Income Tax department has informed the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal about this unaccounted cash recovery. Besides confiscating the cash, the said businessman has also been asked to be present at the Income Tax department’s office in Kolkata next week.
Meanwhile, sources said that on the basis of specific information, the Income Tax sleuths were also conducting investigation against some real estate operators in West Bengal having close links or even partnerships with a number of influential leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress. The investigation is based on various clues that these real estate agencies might be important sources of money supply for election and campaign related expenses.
Last week only, the Income Tax sleuths conducted a marathon two-and-half day raid and search operation at the South Kolkata residence of Swarup Biswas, the younger brother of West Bengal Power and Housing Minister, Aroop Biswas.
A local Trinamool Congress office, which was mainly the party office of Biswas’s wife Jui Biswas, a ruling party councillor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, was also raided by the Income Tax sleuths then.
The other places where similar raid and search operations were conducted included the offices of some real estate development entities known to be close to Biswas. The names of two such entities, which have surfaced, are Eden Real Estate and Multicon Real Estate.