Posh villa owned by an auto driver in Bengaluru raided by Income Tax Department

IT Raid

The man had reportedly bought the house paying Rs 1.6 crores in cash, making officials suspicious.

TNM Staff

Officials of the Income Tax Department raided a villa owned by a man identified as Subramani, who is an auto driver by profession, in Bengaluru’s Whitefield. Based on a tip-off, the I-T officials conducted a search and seizure operation at the villa on Wednesday. According to reports, Subramani, bought a villa in Jatti Dwarkamai Villas, a gated community in Whitefield, by paying Rs 1.6 crores in cash. Subramani has allegedly never filed income tax returns. While I-T officials have not issued any official statement yet, reports state that large amounts of cash may also have been seized from his house. Unconfirmed reports state that a sum of Rs 7.9 crores was seized from his house. Officials also suspect that Subramani is a benami holder of the house and had he had earlier been issued a notice to come and explain how he had come to own the house. Subramani, on the other hand, has denied all the allegations and claimed that the house was a gift given to him by a foreign passenger. “She was struggling to get a cab or rickshaw on a rainy day, I dropped her home that day. She later happened to catch my auto again and asked if I could provide transportation when needed. Upon enquiring about my family and knowing of our financial condition, she offered to help,” he said. He also claimed that she had helped several other auto drivers. Preliminary investigations by the I-T department, however, has revealed that he is associated with a few politicians, including general secretary of State BJP and Mahadevapura MLA Arvind Limbavali, reported The Hindu. The MLA has gone on record to deny links with Subramani. A case has been registered against Subramani under Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988. Further probe is underway.

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