The income tax team that conducted raids on the office and residential premises of the promoters as well as editor & bureau chief of regional TV channel Bharat Samachar have found suspicious transactions of Rs 200 crores. The IT sleuths have completed search operations at the office of Bharat Samachar and the residence of its editor Brajesh Mishra on Saturday night. The IT officials have said to have seized 16 bank lockers and Rs 3 crore cash during the raids. Besides, it has also discovered that transactions to the tune of Rs 40 crore have been made in the name of companies that existed only on papers. This amount of Rs 40 crore is being given to the channel in the form of loan.
However, raids are continuing at the premises of a liquor baron in eastern UP and few real estate agents who are promoters of the TV channel. The IT teams had also conducted raids at the residence of BJP legislator Ajay Singh whose brother AP Singh is one of the promoter of Bharat Samachar channel. IT team had also raided the premises of Lucknow based real estate agents Gore Gulati and Zunaid Khan.
Meanwhile the management of Bharat Samachar channel has issued a statement after the IT raids and said that nothing illegal was found with it during the search. The channel has said that IT team had to return empty hand even after carrying out massive search for more than 50 hours. According to the channel management, the purpose of this whole exercise was to harass the journalists and nothing suspicious or objectionable could be recovered. It said that raids at the residence of editor and bureau chief were futile as nothing could be recovered.
