Actor Sonu Sood- Actor Sonu Sood’s premises in Mumbai and a Lucknow-based real estate company, which was involved in a deal with him, were raided on Wednesday by officials from the income tax department, NDTV reported.
“The investigation operation has been launched into allegations of tax evasion on this deal,” officials told NDTV.
The IT department was studying a land deal between the Sood company and the real estate company, according to PTI. At least six sites linked to Sood were searched, according to reports.
The raids took place days after Sood met the national leader of the Aam Aadmi party, Arvind Kejriwal. The actor then dismissed speculations that he was joining the Aam Aadmi party.
At an event in August, Kejriwal named Sood a brand ambassador for his government’s mentoring program for school students.
However, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Asif Bhamla denied that the raids were linked to Sood’s meeting with Delhi’s chief minister. “There is nothing to do with it,” he said. “Any personality can meet anyone. It’s just a research, not a raid. It’s on a pipe.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi party has expressed its support for the actor (Actor Sonu Sood).
“There are millions of hardships on the path to truth, but truth always wins,” Kejriwal tweeted. “With Sonu Sood ji, there are prayers from lakhs of Indian families who have obtained the support of Sonu ji in difficult times.”
Sood has been praised for his charitable work during the coronavirus pandemic. He had organized special flights and buses for migrants stranded due to the nationwide lockdown in April-May last year. He had also organized oxygen for patients suffering from the second wave of the pandemic in May this year.
Party lawmaker Aam Aadmi Atishi said the raids, which the Center calls an “investigation”, on Sood’s premises were aimed at intimidating him. “The Center sends a clear message that it doesn’t want anyone to do a good job for the citizens of the country,” she said in a video.
The MP asked if it was a crime that the actor aided citizens of the country during the pandemic.
Party leader Raghav Chadha described the raids as a “witch hunt” carried out by an “insecure government”. “His only crime is to have worked for the welfare of the oppressed when they were orphaned by the state,” he tweeted.
Shiv Sena chief Anand Dubey said he was shocked to hear about the raids. “The way Sonu Sood has helped thousands of people, for taxpayers to search his properties… I don’t think he can do anything illegal,” Dubey said.
