HYDERABAD: Sleuths from Income Tax department swooped down the residences and business offices of ruling-Telangana Rashtra Samithi party MP from Khammam, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy on Tuesday morning.
Searches that went late into night led to unearthing of about Rs 80 lakh unaccounted cash and various documents are being verified by the team of officials. The searches are expected to continue on Wednesday too, as large number of documents are yet to be scrutinised.
The I-T sleuths were reportedly acting on certain suspicious transactions found in Reddy's business operations. Reddy's younger brother Ponguleti Prasad Reddy is the Chairman and CEO of Raghava Construction, where as the MPs wife, son and daughter are directors.
Around 10.30 this morning, about 15 teams conducted simultaneous searches across the MP's Jubilee hills residence in Hyderabad, Narayanapuram residence in Khammam district and other locations including the head office of Raghava Constructions in Banjara Hills.
Reddy's residence in Khammam town and office of Raghava Constructions in Khammam by-pass road was also covered besides other premises at Kadapa, Ongole and Vijayawada .
"Our information is that there has been routing of cash through sub-contractors by awarding bogus sub-contracts. Cash is thus deposited into the company's account. Large number of these transactions are being verified accordingly," IT sources said.
"These bogus bills are raised in the form of bogus purchase of iron and steel, bugus sub contracts leading to consequent cash generation," sources added.
The searches ahead of the state's legislative assembly elections, has raised several eyebrows in political circles. "This is not a politically motivated case. We have been tracking the case for sometime now. Today's search was part of the investigation," said sources.
The 52-year-old who had contested 2014 Lok Sabha polls on a YSRCP ticket had defected to TRS party a year after winning Khammam parliamentary constituency.
Repeated attempts to contact Srinivasa Reddy proved futile.
According to the company's website, Raghava Constructions began operations in 1991 as the sole proprietary concern and was reconstituted as a partnership firm in 2003. The firm has interests in the sectors of engineering & construction, real estate, infrastructure, urban development and management.