The Income Tax department raided homes of filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and actor Taapsee Pannu on Wednesday. The raids were carried across 30 locations in Mumbai and Pune as a part of a tax evasion probe against Kashyap’s production house Phantom Films. There was also huge suppression of income compared to the actual box office collections, the IT department reportedly said.
Further reports suggest that the production house staff was unable to explain the discrepancy of around ₹300Cr. The officials are said to have found evidence related to undervaluation and manipulation of share transactions of the production house, which may amount to tax implication of about ₹350Cr. Apparently, the cash receipts worth ₹5 Cr have been recovered from Taapsee as evidence.
Properties linked with Reliance Entertainment group CEO Shibhasish Sarkar and some executives of celebrity and talent management companies KWAN and Exceed were also raided. During the search, seven bank lockers were found which have been placed under restraint, the release said.
WhatsApp chats, emails and documents along with computer peripherals have also been seized from various locations. Tax Officers have interrogated Kashyap and Taapsee who were shooting in Pune. “The others searched include some employees of Phantom, which was dissolved in 2018, and its other promoters director-producer Vikramaditya Motwane, producer Vikas Bahl and producer-distributor Madhu Mantena,” NDTV reported.
While the raids continue, social media is abuzz with views that owing to Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee’s open views against the ruling government in matters of national interest and debates, the raids are perhaps a big jolt and may be a result of their outspoken criticism. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted after the news broke about these raids and said, “कुछ मुहावरे: उँगलियों पर नचाना- केंद्र सरकार IT Dept-ED-CBI के साथ ये करती है। भीगी बिल्ली बनना- केंद्र सरकार के सामने मित्र मीडिया। खिसियानी बिल्ली खंबा नोचे- जैसे केंद्र सरकार किसान-समर्थकों पर रेड कराती है। #ModiRaidsProFarmers” on Thursday hit out at the government.
