COIMBATORE: On the second day of the statewide searches, including a DMK functionary’s house in Coimbatore, I-T officials identified documents related to investments to the tune of around Rs 150 crore and seized Rs 5 crore cash.
A statement from the Central Board of Direct Taxes on Thursday said that the searches are being carried out at educational institutions and their associates, including the premises of a civil contractor in Coimbatore, Erode, Chennai, and Namakkal.
The searches follow a tip-off that fees collected from students were not fully accounted for in the regular books of accounts. “Evidence found during the search reveals that the allegations regarding suppression of fees received are true and the unaccounted receipts are siphoned off to the personal accounts of the trustees, which, in turn, are invested in real estate through a company.
The other shareholders of the company — an architect from Tirupur and a textile businessman — were also covered in the search. Electronic devices seized are being examined,” the release said. In the case of civil contractors from Namakkal, inflation of expenditure by booking bogus expenses under labour charges, material purchase, etc, were found.
“The search has led to the identification of unaccounted investments and on-money payments to the tune of Rs 150 crore. Besides, a sum of Rs 5 crore has been seized. Some lockers are yet to be opened. So, the final figure is expected to be higher at the end of these searches,” the release added. On Thursday, sleuths continued their search at a private engineering college at Vaikalmedu in Erode district. They also searched a house of the institution’s trustee.