HYDERABAD: Income Tax (I-T) officials carried out searches at the residences and offices of former Congress MLA and Maheswaram candidate Kichannagari Laxma Reddy, also known as KLR, and Badangpet Mayor Parijata Narasimha Reddy, who is also affiliated with the Congress, in Bahadurpura and Balapur on Thursday. The searches began at 5 AM. Sources said the agency is investigating allegations that both individuals had funnelled money from their real estate businesses into the upcoming Assembly elections.
Simultaneously, I-T teams also searched the residence of V Laxma Reddy, who had won the Balapur Ganesh Laddu in the 2022 open auction for `24.6 lakh, which garnered significant interest in Telangana political circles
The agency teams also conducted searches at the residence of Giridhar Reddy, who is the brother-in-law of Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy. Speculation emerged that Giridhar was attempting to pool money for the upcoming elections. Officials searched his residence in Kokapet, examined his I-T returns for the past two fiscal years and enquired about recent real estate investments and returns.
At KLR’s residence, agency officials reportedly questioned him about investments in two recent companies and the sale of some lands in preparation for the Assembly elections, which the agency suspects involved black money. They also took him to a bank to open lockers and reportedly found significant land documents and seized some cash from his residence.
Parijata was on a tour to the temple town of Tirumala during the searches, while her husband Narasimha Reddy was in New Delhi. However, her daughter was present at the residence during the agency’s operation. Officials discovered several land documents, I-T files, and important digital transaction details and even went through the mayor’s daughter’s mobile phone.
The sources said both Narasimha Reddy and Parijata were called to Hyderabad by the agency and arrived late at night. It was reported that the I-T officials found some cash at Parijata’s residence and seized several land documents. The agency teams continued their searches at these four locations late into the night. Sources said the raids would likely conclude on Friday afternoon.
Reacting to the searches, TPCC chief A Revanth Reddy alleged that the BJP and BRS were attempting to undermine the chances of Congress in the Assembly elections. He accused Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of carrying out these raids on the residences and offices of Congress leaders with the assistance of Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
Alleging that the BJP and BRS were using I-T raids to create disruption, he also claimed that minister Sabitha Indra Reddy feared losing in the Maheshwarm segment to K Laxma Reddy. “The BJP’s frontal organisations — such as the I-T, CBI, ED, and other agencies — carry out raids before their bosses, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, visit to Telangana,” the TPCC chief alleged.
In response, BJP state president and Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy denied these allegations and condemned Revanth’s remarks. He asserted that the I-T department and other agencies were simply carrying out their duties and that there was no interference from the BJP. These investigations were being conducted based on their inputs regarding violations of I-T rules, he added.
MP Venkat Reddy also responded to the raids at his brother-in-law’s residence, accusing the BJP, BRS, and AIMIM of attempting to create tension among Congress leaders through such tactics. He criticised the three parties for their efforts to thwart Congress’ victory in the upcoming Assembly elections.