The Income Tax Department on Wednesday searched at least 30 locations linked to filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, producer Vikas Bahl, producer and distributor Madhu Mantena and actor Taapsee Pannu in Mumbai and Pune.
The action, according to an agency official, was part of a tax evasion investigation against Phantom Films initiated by Kashyap but disbanded in 2018. Bahl and Mantena are also co-promoters of Phantom Films.
It is known that Mr. Kashyap and Ms. Pannu were in Pune at the time of the searches. The IT department is also likely to contact certain auditors to verify the details. The sources said that some interconnected transactions between the registrants were under the Department’s scanner and that the raids were aimed at gathering more evidence about the allegations of tax evasion.
‘Suppress dissent’
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said the raids are an attempt to suppress voices of dissent against the central government.
“Central agencies are being used to take action against those who take an anti-government position and speak out against their policies, be it ED (Directorate of Enforcement), CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) or TI (Income Tax). Both Kashyap and Pannu have expressed opposition to certain government policies in the past. It is not a coincidence that only they have been raided, ”said Nawab Malik, Maharashtra Minister for Minority Affairs and chairman of the NCP’s Bombay unit.
Maharashtra Congress President and MLA Nana Patole also criticized the Center for selectively targeting celebrities.
“We have seen in many cases that those who speak out against the government are subject to action by central agencies. The government believes that such tactics will scare people. We will not allow such things to happen in a democracy, ”Mr. Patole said.
Maharashtra PWD Minister Ashok Chavan told reporters: “This is not new. We have seen this happen often. Those who expose the facts are being pressured in this way not to speak.
(With input from PTI and Alok Deshpande in Mumbai)
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