HYDERABAD: An Income Tax officer, who invested around Rs 2 crore in producing a Tollywood flick ‘I am In Love’ with his son in the lead role, is now facing the heat. The movie hit the screens in 2014 and has managed to ‘collect’ only Rs 20 lakh.
The Central Bureau of India (CBI) officials, who raided the officer’s residence on Thursday, found that producing the film by investing Rs 2 crore and showing poor collections is part of manipulating his income sources.
On a tip off, CBI officials led by Inspector M A Nanda carried out the raids on the residence of Income Tax officer Boddu Venkateswara Rao in KPHB colony and unearthed illegal assets worth Rs 4 crore.
According to CBI officials, Venkateswara Rao was in possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income from April 1, 2010 to October 31, 2016.
‘‘The accused officer has a film production company -- Saptavarna Creations - which is owned by his first son and they produced a Telugu film ‘I am in Love’ in 2014. The officer’s second son played the lead in the film,’’ the CBI officials said.
Venkateswara Rao possessed various movable and immovable assets valued at Rs 2.78 crore.
CBI officials registered criminal cases under Prevention of Corruption Act and detained him for questioning.