Reflexes
- Searches For Alleged Income Tax Evasions, Sources Say
- Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee Pannu are outspoken critics of the government
- Searches were carried out at nearly 20 locations in Mumbai and Pune
Bombay / New Delhi:
Income tax officials today conducted searches on properties linked to filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and actor Taapsee Pannu in Mumbai for alleged tax evasion, the sources said. The searches were carried out at 30 locations in Mumbai and Pune, including facilities linked to a talent agency, as well as Phantom Films, which was co-promoted by Anurag Kashyap, producers Vikas Bahl and Madhu Mantena.
“The Income Tax department investigates someone based on whatever information they get. The matter comes to court later,” Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said during a BJP briefing.
Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee Pannu are outspoken critics of the government and have lent their voice to various causes, including continued protests by farmers against the core laws. Recently, Ms Pannu had criticized celebrities ‘show of solidarity towards the government in response to pop star Rihanna’s post calling attention to the farmers’ unrest. The actor scoffed at the rejection, saying it was better to focus on strengthening one’s value system if a tweet shook one’s beliefs.
“If a tweet shakes your unity, a joke shakes your faith or a show shakes your religious belief, then it is you who has to work to strengthen your value system and not become masters of propaganda for others,” Pannu said on the networks last month. .
Meanwhile, several ministers in Maharashtra criticized the tax department’s searches on Kashyap and Pannu, saying the raids are because they are outspoken celebrities. “The way the raids were carried out on the houses and offices of Anurag Kashyap and Tapasee Pannu, it is definitely the use of the Directorate of Enforcement or Income Tax against those who oppose the government or its policies. Anurag Kashyap and Tapasee Pannu have raised their voices against the policies of the Modi government. This action is an attempt to suppress their voices, “said Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik.
Anurag Kashyap had voiced his opinion on condemning the violence against protesters against the Citizenship Law in 2019. Last year, he expressed his support for actor Rhea Chakraborty in the Sushant Singh Rajput case and criticized Bollywood actors for not speaking out. Enough about the case.
Phantom Films was disbanded in 2018 after Vikas Bahl was named in an incident of alleged sexual misconduct.
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