Raids on coaching institute in Kota: IT Department unearths undisclosed assets worth crores

Jaipur: The Income Tax Department has stepped up its course of action for the disclosure of illegal assets in Rajasthan. It recently conducted raids on a popular coaching center in Kota where the officials are learnt to have unearthed undisclosed assets worth crores of rupees.

The Vigilance Wing of the IT Department conducted raids on 18 different branches of this coaching institute. These were located in Jaipur, Bangalore, and Kota. Reportedly, the teams also raided the residence of the coaching center’s managing director and found a large amount of cash. The MD and his relatives have allegedly surrendered assets worth nearly Rs 106 crores during these raids. The teams found 38 lakhs in cash and jewellery worth more than 80 lakhs.

This coaching institute prepares students for IIT-JEE (JEE Advanced and Main), AIPMT, AIIMS, and Olympiads. It is headquartered in Kota, Rajasthan. Soon after its inception in 2001, it expanded rapidly and set up its branches in many other cities of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh. It also has a center in the national capital Delhi.

The IT Department has been in the news for several of its actions in recent times. After the demonetization drive, there have been numerous raids by authorities leading to seizures of thousands of crores in illegal wealth. The Narendra Modi-led NDA government has been targeting black money holders and their properties in order to fulfill the promise the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had made during the run-up to the general elections 2014.

At the beginning of this year, the authorities had carried out several public advertisements and warned people against depositing their unaccounted old currency in someone else’s bank account saying such an act would attract criminal charges under the Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, applicable to both movable and immovable property, that has been enforced from November 1, 2016. These crackdowns are a result of the note ban order in the wake of which the IT Department had started an operation to identify suspect bank accounts with huge cash deposits.