The biggest-ever seizure of cash in new currency on Friday grew to over Rs 5 crore even as the Income Tax department said it detected unaccounted income worth Rs 152 crore after it conducted searches in a dozen premises in Bengaluru and other locations. I-T officials said the cash found, after searches were launched on Thursday on the premises of two engineers, working with the state government, and two contractors has risen to Rs 5.7 crore and these notes are in the denomination of the newly introduced currency of Rs 2000.
“Total admission of unaccounted income by the group stands at Rs 152 crore. Investigations are on,” they said. They added the department also recovered 7 kg bullion and jewellery weighing 9 kg, worth Rs 5 crore, after these operations.
“About 90 lakh has been found in the old demonestised currency. In addition, several property documents were also found and seized,” they said. A team of over 50 I-T sleuths and police personnel had launched operations on Thursday and searched premises in Bengaluru, Chennai and Erode (Tamil Nadu).
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the policy-making body of the tax department, had said in a statement on Thursday that: “the new notes and bullion are learnt to have been obtained by exchange of demonetised notes by payment of commission of an engineer and a contractor.”
