LUCKNOW: After the DGGI raids on Kanpur businessman Piyush Jain, the Income Tax department carried out raids at 35 different locations belonging to perfume baron and Samajwadi Party MLC Pushpraj Jain 'Pampi' on Friday.
Raids were also done on another Kannauj-based perfume dealer Fauzan Malik, who owns the firm called Mohammad Yakub Perfume
Searches were made at Lucknow, Kanpur, Kannauj, the National Capital Region (NCR), Delhi and Mumbai based on specific inputs of tax evasion, sources said, adding the focus was on those who were involved in the business of perfumery.
Incidentally, Jain (65) had launched 'Samajwadi ittra' (perfume) last month in the presence of SP president Akhilesh Yadav. As news of the raids surfaced, the Samajwadi Party's Twitter handle began posting condemnation and accusing BJP of misusing central agencies in the run-up to the state election.
"After the huge failure of last time, this time BJP’s ally I-T has finally raided SP MLC Shri Pushpraj Jain and other perfume traders of Kannauj. Open misuse of central agencies by the scared BJP is common in UP elections. The people are watching everything, they will answer with their vote," it tweeted.
In Delhi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asserted that the nearly `200 crore cash seized from Jain was not BJP money. The I-T raids were at the correct address and not by an outcome of 'knocking at wrong door', she said in a dig at the opposition party.
As per the sources, Pushpraj Jain was linked to around 18 firms and companies. He is a director on the board of Pragati Aroma Oil Distillers Pvt Ltd which he formed in 1989 with Atulkumar Sawailal Jain, Prabhatchandra Sawailal Jain, Pankaj Sawailal Jain and Pushpraj Sawailal Jain as directors.
Malik runs his factory from his house located in Kannauj. Believed to be one of the oldest perfume manufacturing firms, his units are located in Lucknow and Mumbai as well. Fauzan is said to be exporting perfumes to Gulf countries.