HYDERABAD/ KARIMNAGAR: In a joint operation, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax (I-T) sleuths conducted raids in the offices and residences of granite businesspersons, including Civil Supplies Minister and Karimnagar MLA Gangula Kamalakar and his relatives, who have been in the business for almost 30 years, in Hyderabad and Karimnagar on Wednesday.
As many as 22 teams carried out simultaneous raids. In Karimnagar, as the residence of the MLA, who was reportedly in Dubai, was locked, the sleuths summoned locksmiths to gain entry into the building. Learning about the searches, Kamalakar along with his family members returned from the UAE, sources added.The teams reportedly carried out searches in the offices of nine granite companies in Karimnagar and the residences of their directors in Punjagutta, Attapur and Jubilee Hills of Hyderabad.
ED had received three complaints regarding the granite firms stating that they evaded seigniorage fees and exported minerals to other countries, causing to loss of Rs 124 crore to the public exchequer. In 2013, the undivided Andhra Pradesh Vigilance and Enforcement Department probed into the alleged violations and imposed a cumulative penalty of Rs 749 crore against the nine companies.
BJP State unit chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar and senior party leaders, Peral Shekar Rao and Beti Mahender Reddy, had complained to the ED, CBI, Central Board of Direct Taxation and other departments concerned seeking action against the companies which failed to pay the penalty amount.
As per the complaints, Swetha Granites, AS Shipping, JM Baxi and Company, Maithili Aditya Transport, KVK Energy, Aravind Granites, Sandiya Agencies, PSR Agencies, Sri Venkateswara Granites/Logistics along with other companies exported minerals illegally by colluding with the South Central Railways officials and authorities at the Kakinada Deep Water Port and Krishnapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh.
Sleuths seized several documents containing details of digital transactions, work order details and mining permission, from offices of the firms.
Collusion of officials suspected
ED officials suspect the companies mined in excess of what was allocated to them apart from colluding with officials to export minerals without properly checking waybills and invoices between 2011 and 2021