I-T department searches firms linked to Purti group

The income-tax (I-T) department on Tuesday searched companies associated with Purti Power and Sugar Limited (PPSL), a business group of BJP president Nitin Gadkari, in Mumbai.

The "field inquiries" of 24 shell firms that have invested in PPSL were carried out by the investigation wing of the I-T department. The inquiries were made at 11 locations. "The Nagpur team is doing the primary investigation. They sent us a detailed questionnaire which needed further field visits," a senior I-T officer said.

"There are five layers of companies through which investments have been channeled over a period of time. Of these, two layers have offices in Mumbai. We have been going through their accounts and have specific questions related to the source of revenue of a few. These companies have further been taken over by another set of companies in Kolkata and they remain in their book as investors. The chain of money needs to be tracked," said the officer.

The department will continue the probe and send a detailed report in 10 days. "It's an investigation on shell companies, so basically we need to construct the source of money," the officer said.

Gadkari dismissed the action as mischievous and politically motivated.

A statement issued by his office said, "It was an attempt to somehow associate his name with companies he has nothing to do with. The income-tax move was highly questionable and a command performance at the behest of its political masters sitting in New Delhi, who have hatched a political conspiracy to tarnish his image."

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