The Income Tax (I-T) department swooped down on a prominent Navi Mumbai real estate developer and builder, leading to seizure of Rs2,000 currency notes, running into several crores. While the I-T department was tight-lipped about the surveys, sources revealed that leading Navi Mumbai developer Paradise Group Managing Director Manish Bathija’s premises were among those searched.
The operation yielded booty in incriminating documents, account books and ledgers of cash deposits – mostly of policemen and bureaucrats with ‘benami’ properties. The searches that began on Monday morning continued till late Wednesday evening.
GST violations, tax evasion detected: Officials
“GST violations, tax evasion and hawala transactions have been detected during the searches on prominent real estate developers,” confirmed a senior tax official. The real estate group in question was allegedly involved in an Rs1,761 crore scam in which the Raigad collector’s office had allegedly colluded.
The then CM Devendra Fadnavis had in 2018 ordered a judicial enquiry into the irregularities in land given to project-affected farmers of Koyna dam, near the proposed Navi Mumbai airport.
The power of attorney of project affected farmers was taken away by the builder even before the land transfer.
Sleuths got tips that MD Bathija was custodian of black money
According to sources, the I-T department has received information that Bathija was a custodian of black money belonging to a few senior police officers and bureaucrats.
Earlier, on Tuesday, the taxmen had conducted searches at the residence of former Konkan region divisional commissioner Tanaji Satre.
The IAS officer was a consultant of Paradise Group after retirement.
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